Page 42 - February 2024

A Girl and Her Cat:

A True Love Story

Elliott came to me in 2009 when I was
nineteen, at the cost of exactly one

cupcake. He was a tiny little thing.
Upon bringing him home, he promptly

went behind the couch and refused to
come out except for food, water, and the
litterbox. As much as he avoided me,

I fell deeply in love. He stayed behind
the couch for about a week, until I had

come home from college after having a
particularly bad day, sat on the couch
and began to cry. It was then he peeked

his head out, climbed up my leg, and
curled up in my lap, purring away. From

that moment, we became inseparable.

Elliott and I moved nine times together

over the next sixteen years. We watched
each other grow and went through It was then I realized he was in his sunset

everything together, good or bad. Every years. But his age didn’t stop him. He still
night was full of snuggles. He loved played as much as he could, although
to stretch out over my chest and bury he preferred to sleep most of the day.

his head in my neck. He was my safety When my husband left for six months to
blanket. No matter where we lived, I go through basic training and technical
could always count on him trotting to the school for the United States Air Force,

door whenever I came home. As he grew once again, despite his age, he stuck by
older, he came down with some minor my side during my many lonely nights,

health issues. The worst of it was his giving me his unconditional love.
experience with a seizure. I was told by
the emergency vet that he was completely A few weeks before our Permanent

fine, and that sometimes elder animals Change of Station to England, Elliott
can have this experience. began showing distressing symptoms.

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