I went to the pound in October 1996 to adopt a cat they recommended for me. When I got there this cat hissed and backed up but I felt a tugging on the sleeve of my shirt. I looked over and Sketchers was reaching for me from her cage. I adopted her immediately. She was 1 1/2 years old and had been left by a family who didn't want her anymore. I would come home from work and she would cry and hold me for a couple hours every evening. They said it was separation anxiety. When I went out with Kurt for the second time she met him and jumped right into his lap and stayed there purring. Obviously she chose him, too. Later on Lori's cat had kittens and their mother was eaten by coyotes, so we got a cat for Sketchers, Gizmo. Sketchers would stay by our side all day whenever we were sick. She would pull her water dish into the hall when it was empty, (a 1 gallon self watering dish). Kurt taught her to fetch with two small yellow yarn balls, when she was tired of playing she would drop her ball in her water dish. She was very vocal and when she wanted us to know something we would say "show me" and she would lead us to and empty food dish or an unacceptable litter box or the front door if she wanted out. She loved to sleep on any kind of paper, there's a lot around here. At night she would nestle in between us in the crook of Kurt's arm and lick him on the face or arms and purr. She caught two mice in the kitchen for us. We thanked her profusely and she was very proud. She loved her brush especially under her chin and by her ears. You couldn't pet her or love her too much, it just wasn't possible. She was the most intelligent cat I ever met and the sweetest. If people came over she would figure out which one was most allergic to cats and jump in their lap. Whenever we'd go outside she would be right there with us. Whenever we wanted to be intimate she would have to be right there. We love you Sketchers, and if there's a heaven we hope Grandma is taking care of you until we get there.
Dear Sketchers:
When I first met you you jumped into my lap and started purring up a storm, I
knew that if Connie continued to date me that you wouldn't let her come between
us. You started showing off for me in different ways, like when you would curl
up around my legs and meow your little heart out to greet me after I came home
from work. One trip to Fry's Electronics we picked up a laser pointer, and
figured that it would be a good toy we could use with both of our cats.
After loading the batteries I started making the dot fly all over the place,
while Gizmo was chasing it where ever it went, you sat there looking at the red
dot then up at my hand as if to say, 'I know where that's coming from, I never
going to catch it, why bother.' Quite often you would come to bed when I
did and would ever so gently land on the bed and creep your way towards me,
meowing your little squeaky voice. After reaching the pillows you would
settle down on one of my arms and let me pet you with the other. One time,
Connie had purchased two pairs of toys for you and Gizmo, and when Connie had
tried to show them to me, one of each of the pair was not in the bag anymore.
We looked in the car, on the counter and finally we saw that you had taken them
out of the bag already and were trying the open them by yourself, you were
always one step ahead of us. You would sit outside in the yard and try to
entice the birds to fly closer to you by doing your special little bird call.
Apparently in time it worked, I heard a huge commotion outside while I was
sitting at my computer, shortly thereafter you were, meowing behind me, and
when I turned around you had a little bird in between your paws, as if to say,
'Look what I brought you, Dad.'
Your white fur was so soft, and you loved to get your chin and throat scratched and brushed. You would curl your tail around my hand when I lingered my hand around your tail. It would just ever so slightly twitch to and fro. You would try to join one of us in the bathroom whenever you could to get lovins from Connie in the bath, or warm up the bath mat for me after my showers. Please remember that through it all, that we love you unconditionally.
You will missed more than you can ever know!!
