Boo, 147 years old and counting

It was a cold, wintery day in October when we found her. It was love at first site. She was a teeny weeny little black and white Tuxedo kitten, six weeks new to the world. Twenty-one human years or 147 cat years later, she is still with us. Of course, she now is a demanding soul, but still a wonderful companion. This article shares with you the behaviors, explorations and life of our cat, Boo.

Boo came home with us and the kids fell in love with her. She was easy to train, rarely clawed at our furniture, always used the kitty litter box, and was a great companion. She entertained us with her explorations of the unknown world. She loved to follow and jump on a string pulled by the kids. Paper backs always enticed her. Boxes, she adored. One of the kids' favorite memory was how she would hide behind furniture when an unknown dog came into our house, only to pounce on their backs. Amazingly, she was never injured!

At six months old, she was fixed. As much as we loved her, we did not want kittens. There are too many in the world that are unclaimed and left to run wild.

Soon after, she began to explore the great outdoors. At first she hunted bugs and anything that flied. Butterflies beware. Soon she graduated to birds. One time she jumped up as graceful as a ballerina dancer. With one paw, she snatched the bird from its post. It was as perfect as a choreographed dance move. Afterwards, she would replenish her energy with a nap in the cool shade of the rose bushes.

She has traveled and lived in several different places throughout her years. She adjusted wonderfully. But the trips, well, there were two times that we thought we had lost her. The first time, we were moving from VA to NY. The trucks were packed, kids were loaded, and Boo was no where to be seen. We brought out the flashlights when it began to get dark. We shined the light out in the backyard. We could see her eyes, but she absolutely refused to come to us. I think because she knew a change was happening. After hours of trying to coax her to us, we finally gave up. We would spend the night and hopefully she would come home. About an hour later, my husband woke up. Boo, our cat, was in his arms. She had simply come to the door and demanded to be let in. It was time to leave.

The second time was during another transfer. We were moving from ND, stopping in NY to visit relatives, and heading to MO. Boo was right there. We had that girl caged. But because we were stopping over for a couple of days in NY, we decided to be nice and let her out. Do you know that she made us hunt in the woods for 2 hours before we could catch her? After that, she was never allowed out until we had actually moved into the new house.

Perhaps she didn't want to go to MO because she knew how the birds were going to treat her, specifically the blue jays. If she dared to get near a nest, they would swoop down and peck her on the head and on the body. They would hit her with such force, that Boo would actually tumble. She was continually running to hide. A couple of times, we had to go to her rescue. Those birds were vicious!

Of course with each move, there was that transition period. I would have her stay in the house for two or so weeks. Then I would open the door, keeping it open, so she could come back in. After a few days of doing this, she was on her way to explore her new playground. Of course, she had to check each and every little crevice. Nothing was safe, not even innocent spiders!

Other than that, she was our cat, the little one in our family. As she aged, she began to slow down. She began to go outside and lay in the sun and hunt a few bugs here and there. The birds were now safe. She stayed inside most of the time. She was perfectly content provided she had her food, fresh water, a clean kitty litter box, and her human family to cozy up to and get scratched.

Now she is 21 years old. That's 147 cat years! And she is still kicking. She was with our kids when they were little ones and she is still with us since our children have grown, moved out, and started their own families. There are oodles and oodles of memories and cherished times.

In the last year though, she has slowed down so very much. She was diagnosed with high blood pressure and hyperthyroidism. With all of the years of her giving us comfort, it is now our turn to give her comfort. She loves to sit on my husband's lap and can spend hours there, perfectly content and purring up a storm. She still uses the kitty litter box, which is amazing to me. She overshoots at times, but she is still dignified. She has, though, gotten more vocal--much more vocal. When she is hunger, she is hunger. She also has gotten quite finicky on what she eats. But being as old as she is, she deserves indulgence. We need to make sure her last days are as comfortable as possible. She deserves no less. We have truly been blessed to know and live with such a wonderful, wonderful feline!! Thank you, Boozer!! <3