Princess

"Princess"
Princess is currently 11 years old

May 2004 - at age 2.75 (approximate)
In May 2004, I took in Princess making her the 3rd cat in my house at that time. Her's is an interesting story. My friend Nancy and I first spotted Princess two years earlier (when Princess was roughly 1 years old) near our office building. She is nearly solid black and blind in one eye. And she crept so softly in the lawn near our office building that we joking said she didn't bend a blade of grass. But Princess was very wary of humans. She finally walked into one of our humane traps so that we could get her spade and vaccinated. But she was so feral and wild that we couldn't find a home for her. So we released her back to the familiar surroundings of our office area. We continued to feed Princess for the next two years. And even though we were never able to touch her (no matter how much we tried) we began to feel a bond with her. So I trapped her again in May 2004 and this time I took her home. She refused to eat in my guest bedroom but when I put her in my outdoor cat enclosure she started eating. I made a little progress with her in the cat enclosure - but not much. She wouldn't play with me or let me touch her, but she seemed pretty comfortable with me being in there with her. But it soon became very hot (summers in Texas are brutal) and the mosquitos were terrible. So after two months in the enclosure I hired a professional to net her and move her into my guest bedroom.

Luckily, she immediately began eating in my guest bedroom (unlike when she was in there two months prior). She eventually started playing a little with a feather and would let me pet her if I didn't let her see my hands. She is very afraid of human hands. Tiger and "Linda" could see her through a screen door that I put up separating the guest bedroom from the rest of the house. "Linda" did not care for Princess, but Tiger tolerated her. Princess, like all female cats, instantly fell in love with Tiger. Anytime I let Tiger into the guest bedroom, Princess would writhe on the floor trying to get his attention. She would periodically try to rub her head against him. It was so sweet to see her let her guard down for ol' Tiger. He was the only animal on the planet that she liked and trusted. Every once in awhile Tiger would let out a small hiss just to set some boundaries, but he was amazingly tolerant of her. That's Tiger.

I made a little progress with Princess in my guest bedroom, but even after several months of one-on-one time I could only pet Princess under the right conditions - namely, when her head was turned away from my hands. In December 2004, I let Princess out of the guest bedroom so she could freely mix with Tiger & Linda. Linda doesn't like any other cat but Tiger, so she will periodically hiss at Princess if Princess gets too close; and Princess quietly tiptoes in a different direction. To Princess' delight, Tiger was soon grooming on her just like he always had Linda. Tiger would often groom Princess for a few minutes and then walk over to Linda and groom her. What a stud.

Princess was like Tiger's shadow. She tried to be near him most of the time. If they were curled up together she was much more willing to let me pet her - it was like she felt that Tiger would not let anything bad happen to her. Ever since Tiger died in November 2008, I've tried to keep petting Princess. When I'm on the couch she will sometimes jump up on the far end and let me lean over and pet her. If I get too demonstrative she will jump down, but at least she lets me pet her. I know Princess longs for Tiger. Sometimes she walks into a room and looks at the places Tiger liked to play or sleep and then she cries. It's heartbreaking. I miss him too Princess.

In May 2010, I rescued a black & white male kitty named Riley. He's a terrific cat, but he liked to play with Princess too much - so she hunkered down under a chair in my bedroom. I've since divided my house so that Riley (and my other cat Josie) have the front half, and Princess has the back half all to herself. This has let Princess blossom. She still slowly creeps away if I walk toward her, but if I'm on my bed she lets me pet her a lot, she purrs constantly and she'll even headbutt my hands and sleep on my chest. It took six years to get to this place, but I'm thrilled.

Below are some pictures of Princess, followed by several short video clips.

July 2005 - Princess age 3, Tiger age 14
As you will see, most pictures of Princess also include Tiger. She adored Tiger - and he was very good to her.

Nov. 2006 - Princess age 5, Tiger age 16, Linda age 12
Linda (gray tabby) has never liked being very close to Princess. But if Tiger (orange tabby) was nearby then Linda would allow herself to be extremely close to Princess. In fact, all three would snuggle togther if Tiger was in the middle. He was something.

Nov. 2007 - Princess age 6, Tiger age 17
Two months before this picture was taken Tiger suffered a heart attack. Two ultra sounds revealed that is heart was only contracting at roughly 20% of normal. With a lot of TLC and some LASIX injections (to remove fluid from his chest) Tiger lived for 14 months after his diagnosis, quadrupling most of the vet's expectations. And he was happy and relatively healthy for nearly all of those months.

Jan. 2008 - Princess age 6, Tiger age 17
Tiger taught Princess the trick of laying in front of the heater vent during the winter. When Tiger would hear the central heat kick on, he would get up on the catwalks and soak up that warm air!

July 2008 - Princess age 6, Tiger age 17

Sept. 2008 - Princess age 7, Tiger age 18
Tiger and Princess loved being out in the cat enclosure. And they would normally lay very close to one another on a shelf. When this picture was taken, Tiger had been diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy for over a year. He would be gone two months later.