Sometimes it seems like Kayla’s still just around some corner somewhere.
But as in years past, I’m taking a moment to publically remember my little cat.
Today–October 4th–is the anniversary of her birth, back in 1990.
It’s hard to believe that now, in 2017, it’s been nearly 7 1/2 years since losing her, back in May of 2010.
She’s the only cat I’ve had or ever known where there was a definite date of birth…Kayla was a "purebred," that Dad found in a classified ad when we started looking to get a cat, back in 1992. He’d been a fan of the Himalayan breed, and though I wanted a kitten, he followed up on an ad, and we wound up bringing Miss Kayla Krystal home one January Thursday. As a purebred, she came with "papers" detailing the date of birth, and so on.
Said "papers" got stowed in a compartment on the plastic "pet taxi" vet-carrier and somewhere along the years disappeared. Because we didn’t care about ’em.
Kayla was instantly a part of the family, and other than as a clinical "fact," her being a "purebred" never mattered.
Even now, all these years later…I’ve yet to be able to string together a lengthy post about her. So many memories, across nearly 18 1/2 years…and for all the writing I do, have done, will do…there’s no doing justice to what this little cat meant to me.
To date, she remains one of THE primary "constants" in my life, a presence far longer than anyone other than immediate family.
She’ll always be here, until no one remembers. Always here, always part of my heart such a precious part of my life.
Below: several times Kayla was the focus of a "cover" in my The Life of Walt series of photo pieces.
Filed under: 2017 Non-Review Posts, 2017 Posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: cat loss, cats, cats and comics, kayla, memories, pet loss, pet memorial, pets |
Comic Reviews by Walt 
Hang in there. Losing a loving pet (A.K.A. family member) is a really tough thing to go through. Find some comfort in knowing that she most likely loved you as much as you did her.
Nice to see that she liked comics too.
thanks!
yeah…had quite the bond with her over 18 1/2 years.
Still hard to believe it’s been 7 1/2 since she’s gone. she was there just over half my life thus far.
Her memory lives on!
Loving the comic covers featuring Kayla, what a fantastic way to remember a beloved friend! I’m a cat person too and have a cat named Salem whom I adore, it’s never easy losing a much loved feline or canine friend, but the great memories stay with you forever.
thanks!
most of those were well before losing her; the last one with the dates was after.
Is your Salem named for the cat in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, by chance?
I always tell folks I’m by no means anti-dog, but I’m definitely very pro-cat, having had cats in my life for over 25 years now (Kayla was the first).
It’s the bittersweet thing of adopting them into our lives, though, isn’t it? We know they have shorter lifespans, so we almost know for sure we’re gonna outlive them, that even adopting the 12-week old kitten, one day we’ll face the loss of the old cat.
It’s that in-between time we gotta cherish and love ’em and all that; definitely!
and their memories live on as long as we live and remember ’em!
Agreed my friend, adoption of any animal friend is fraught with the knowledge of them one day passing away, but the time spent with them is so very worth the inevitable sadness of their loss. Salem, I actually named after my favourite S. King novel – Salem’s Lot. Though I do know of the cat from Sabrina, I have never actually watched the show itself.