I had to say goodbye to a dear friend yesterday. His name was Twitch and he was a most amazing and unique cat. He came into our lives a little over ten years ago when we went to find a cat at the humane society. Lee had quit smoking and so to reward herself she wanted a pet. I reluctantly agreed to have a cat come to live with us with one condition, it would have to be a tabby. While looking at kittens one reached out of his cage and grabbed my arm so I checked him out. He was a tabby so he was a definite maybe. We decided to wait a day and when we went back he wasn't in the cage, I kicked myself for not taking him when we had the chance. He had been moved to another room and when I passed his cage he reached out and grabbed me again so we took him home, he had chosen me. He was supposed to be Lee's cat but it soon became clear that I was his human. We named him Twitch because of how he reacted when he saw a squirrel outside the window. Twitch was a mutant cat, his back claws did not retract and he had whiskers that pointed downward in a fu manchu. He was also a mutant cat in his demeanor and behavior.

He was very particular about what he would eat, he would only eat Trader Joe's cat tuna and one particular type of Purina One dry food and only liked one type of treats, nothing else would do.

As a kitten he would leap from the floor to my shoulder and would ride around standing on my shoulders. When he got older and could no longer leap to my shoulders he'd climb me by clawing his way up my leg and back. He only weighed ten pounds but he had a big personality and presence. He would follow me around the house like a puppy and would greet me at the door when I came home. He slept with us in bed at night and never stopped purring. Once in awhile he would roam the house singing and yowling and every now and then he would lose his kitty mind and run from room to room like mad. Twitch loved empty boxes and would find a way to squeeze into even those that were two sizes too small for his body. He loved to climb into the clothes dryer when I was trying to fold my laundry and liked to curl up into the laundry basket on the warm clothes. Whenever I packed a suitcase he would climb in and make himself comfortable. Twitch was always in the office with us while we worked. He curled up on the desktop or perched on top of our monitors before we got flat screens. He liked sinks and would jump in and demand to have the faucet turned on so he could drink.

As other pets came to live with us it was clear who was the king of the house. Twitch put up with all of them but never let them get the upper paw. Our goldie Ginger and Twitch were best friends and when she died Twitch mourned with us and tried to console us. When Lee got our new cat Slink to keep him company Twitch let Slink live with us and let him imagine he was the alpha cat but there could only be one king of the house and that was Twitch. After Ginger died and Ruby and Bingo came to live with us, Twitch tolerated them too and let them stay.

Lee and I went to her sister Maureen and Jeff's house for our yearly Thanksgiving visit and when we returned home I knew something was wrong. Twitch didn't come to the door to greet me and yell at me for being away for so long. I found him sprawled in an upstairs room dead. It looked like he had been running and just fell over. Maybe he died while he was playing or zooming around the house. Maybe his big heart just gave out. He was the best cat ever and I miss him like crazy. The house seems so empty and quiet without him here.