There are so many things about Seven that we miss. I think I could write pages and pages of memories and how she was such a wonderful blessing. In the little over three years that I had her, she brought so much joy and happiness to my life. I want to share the stories of her life and the blessings that she brought to us.

How Seven got her name

When Seven came into our lives, it wasn't under the best circumstances for her. She was a stray who found her way onto my parents' land. My dog, who likes cats (no, not to pet and love, but to eat) decided he was going to make her his lunch. My parents discovered Seven when they went outside to find out why my dog was barking up an electrical pole, and sure enough there at the top was a tiny little kitten (there was some question at the time as to whether it was a tiny kitten or a squirrel)! My parents called the electic company, who was very hesitant to make a trip out, because they figured she would make a wrong move and would not survive by the time they got there. After much convincing, the electric company finally agreed to come out and try to get the kitten down. She was rescued and taken in by my parents.

She was given the name of Seven, because she had used two of her nine lives by out-running my dog and surviving an electrical pole! My mom called me up at school and told me the story. At the time, I was in my last semester at college, and I decided this little kitten needed me and I would adopt her. I picked her up at Thanksgiving and brought her back to school with me. She became my little kitty.

Me and my kitty

Looking back, I find it interesting that I decided to adopt a kitten at that time. It was a transition time in my life - school was ending and I was getting ready to find a job and move. I had never thought of myself as a cat person - I thought I enjoyed dogs much more. Adopting Seven though was one of the best decisions I've made. Seven and I took some time to get to know one another. When I first got her, she liked to hide a lot. She would come out to play and to eat, but she seemed to like to keep to herself. As time went on, she and I grew very close.

Seven greeted me every morning with loud purring and rubbing against my leg. After she was awake enough, she would perch on her hind legs and stretch her front paws up on my leg. This little act meant that she was ready to be picked up and held. She loved to have her face rubbed at this time too.

Seven was always there for me. Being a cat, she liked to do things on her own time and terms. But she also understood that she needed to be there for me. She liked to be where I was. If I was reading or watching tv, she would lay nearby and snooze, opening an eye every once and awhile to check on me and make sure I was still there. She watched me as I worked on my computer. She liked to sit on the kitchen table and watch as I fixed dinner, her eyes half closed in an effort to try to stay awake and not miss any of the excitement, but still half asleep. She gave a quiet contented "meow" every once and awhile just to say "hi".

Seven was a talker. You could say something to her and she would respond. Or you could say nothing to her, and she would talk anyway. She was a smart little kitty who understood many words. She especially liked the words "treat" and "play."

Whenever we went somewhere, Seven always seemed to know when we would be back. As soon as the door opened, she would be standing right on the other side. Depending on how long we were gone, she would have different "meows." Short trips lead to short quiet meow greetings, while longer trips resulted in longer more pronounced meows. I often wondered what exactly she was saying, but I think I have an idea. The times we were gone longer resulted with scolding mixed with happy meows that probably meant, "Where were you? You are past your curfew. I'm glad you're back though. You know, it wouldn't hurt you to leave the space heater on when you go somewhere. You may pick me up now and rub my face."

Brian and his kitty

A reflection of Seven's life... by Brian:

We miss Seven very much! I'll never forget how she would always put a smile on our faces. Everyday after work she would hear me open the door and would come bombing over to greet me with a "meow" and a "meow, it's time to play, meow!"

She was always curious when she visited new places, like her first trip to the cabin in Maryland where she got to know all the trophy animals with a quick sniff. And we certainly won't forget her circus balancing act while pacing back and forth across the second floor railing... what a brave kitty!

I'll always remember how every morning she would crawl out of her bed, take several minutes to wake up, and venture over to where I was eating breakfast. She would sniff my food every morning to make sure I wasn't sneaking into her food.

Our curious kitty

Seven knew how to make everything her business. Any plants brought into our home were promptly dissected. Spiders and any other unlucky insects also met their fate if she happened to spy them before they could scurry into some unreachable space too small for kitty paws. Let's just say we've never had an insect or pest problem. Human visitors were viewed with more caution at first because they were a bit bigger than her. As soon as she was comfortable enough, she would introduce herself by sniffing them and then allowing them to pet her head.

Seven liked small areas... or high areas... or warm areas... best of all was if she could find an area that consisted of all three. Perhaps that is why she found her perfect place on top of the kitchen cabinets close to the heat supply from the ceiling (the heat supply doesn't show in the picture, but you can see her hanging out on top of the cabinets on the pictures page).

I'm a fan of space heaters, and so was Seven. This was also a favorite place to rest, sleep or just hang out. She was perfectly content to lay in front of the space heater for as long as it was on... taking breaks only due to a call of nature or the need for food or water.

Training

We really didn't train Seven. She trained us. She believed that whenever Brian was in the kitchen, it was for the sole purpose of preparing one of her favorite gourmet treats. Sometimes, it wasn't just his intention to prepare something for her because of course, Brian liked to prepare himself a snack. She would immediately reprimand him that his behavior was incorrect. According to her, he was allowed to prepare himself a snack, but he must also make something for her, and he must do it quickly. She would remind him of this by meowing quite clearly and loudly and trying to scale up the front of the kitchen cabinets to get to the counter so that she could show Brian what he was supposed to be doing.

Since I work at home, and she was with me at all times, we had to compromise on a schedule of when the best times were to play and when to have face rubs. Ok, we really didn't compromise. Seven let me know when it was time to play by dragging a toy from the living room to me, while I was working at my computer. One of her favorite toys, given to her by my dad, consisted of a long wire with a fuzzy thing at the end. She would pick up the fuzzy thing in her mouth and drag the long wire behind her with some difficulty since it was long and often got stepped on by her little paws. She quickly learned it was best to try to walk side-ways when she had this toy in her mouth, although this didn't always prevent her from stepping on the long wire. She knew it was my job to swing the toy around by the wire, and she would chase after it as though it was a life of its own and she had no idea that I was controlling it. These play times were relaxing and it brought me much joy to see her so active and mesmerized by the thrill of a good chase.

Grooming

Seven was a fastidious little groomer. She liked to keep herself well-groomed and she was careful as to what she stepped in (or didn't step in), which made clean-up for us quite easy as far as cat-care is concerned.

Sometimes she was gracious enough to share her gift of grooming with us. This pretty much occured if we had been eating something with our hands and then we went over to pick her up. She would save us a trip to the sink by licking off whatever savory flavor that had been on our hands.

One particular day, Brian was sitting on the couch minding his own business, and she decided he needed a good scalp treatment. She carefully picked up sections of his hair with her front paws and proceeded to meticulously clean until she was satisfied that he had a much cleaner head of hair.

We miss you Seven

All of these stories and descriptions are why we miss Seven so much. She was a part of our family and we miss all the aspects that made up her character. She was such a wonderful and loving animal. She will remain in our hearts forever.