Twix

Twix was found living outside as a full-grown, declawed, spayed cat. No one knew where she came from but I like to think it was because we needed one another. I gave Twix a roof over her head and in return she turned my apartment into a home. It was just the two of us for nearly nine years.

I looked forward to coming home every day to have her greet me at the door with happy meows and leg rubs. Sometimes I would wait a few seconds on the other side of the door before coming in so I could listen to her cute meows. She always knew it was me waiting at the other end. One time I was only gone a few hours and when I came home she wasn’t at the door. I went into panic mode and searched the apartment frantically. Then it hit me. I opened and closed the closet door before I left. I went over to the closet, opened the door, and sure enough, there she was! After that moment whenever I would leave I would make sure I could see her beforehand and tell her “good-bye.”

Twix enjoyed going outside on our small balcony and sitting in a camping chair to enjoy the day, sun or no sun. She was picky on weather though. She liked the 50-70 degree weather, no wind. I loved watching her point her head to the sun and slowly shut her eyes. She always did a wonderful job grooming herself but I liked to help out too and brush her on the balcony. I got her a leash and harness so we could venture out onto the grass but she wasn’t much of a fan. Our journeys lasted about 15 minutes, she would eat some grass and want to go back inside. So I would plant her grass indoors instead. A lot of the times she would lift the whole plant out of container and get soil all over the place.

Another one of Twix’s enjoyments was to “hunt” my boyfriend’s toes under blankets, we like to think it was because she loved him so much. She also loved to drink water from the bathtub faucet so I bought her a water fountain, this of course must not have been as enjoyable because she barely used it. It was such a rarity that I would take videos if I caught her drinking from the fountain. Twix enjoyed soft cat food too, however, she only licked the gravy and left the actual food. Whenever I was in the kitchen she would be there with me and watch what I was doing. I like to think it’s because she loved my company but I’m guessing the real reason was she was waiting for treats. Whenever she saw me reach up for the cupboard, above the stove, she knew she was going to get a soft food treat and she would meow and meow while pacing back and forth until I put the dish down.

Twix loved cardboard boxes of any size. She would play, nap, and just sit in boxes. At any given time I would have 4-5 boxes for her in the living room. I also had a basket on the floor, it was meant for decoration, but Twix took it over and would often nap in it. Like a lot of cats, if you spend money on toys, they usually don’t like them. I struck gold when I bought a crinkle tube. She loved to run as fast as she could through the tube, play with a feather and bite at the tube. I purchased shelving and carpet to make cat shelves for her. With help from my boyfriend, we installed five short shelves and one long shelf at the very top for her to climb up. Since Twix was declawed we spaced them for her to hop from shelf to shelf. My boyfriend had the genius idea to get another crinkle tube and put it on the long shelf. Of course, she loved hanging out up there and looking down at us while we sat on the couch. She also enjoyed cat nip, cat nip toys (like her fish), and if you were in the bathroom with the door shut- she would like to stick her fluffy white paws under the door to play.

She was the prettiest, softest, and sweetest cat I’ve ever seen and I’m so lucky I got to be her cat mom. She slept with me every night and when she was there I felt safe. When I would sit on the couch she would stand on my lap and I would wrap my arms around her to give her a hug and she wouldn’t move. She’d let me hug her as long as I wanted. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of her. I really miss our daily conversations and having her next to my side. It’s a painful and sad feeling. I try to think of the good times but it’s not easy.

Twix’s life was ended too early because of oral cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I had never heard of it before. I took her to the vet because she would cry out from trying to eat hard food and I figured it was a tooth problem. Just like that our lives were turned upside down. She was diagnosed on January 13, 2017 and passed away April 11, 2017. During this three month period I spoon fed her baby food every day, hugged her every day, and told her how much I loved her every hour. She was the sweetest kitty I could have ever asked for. She was, and will always be, my baby girl.

All my love,
Hope