Kitty-chan

Normally, I would not have named a cat "Kitty-chan". I've had lots of pets over the years and most of them have had rather unusual names. My cats, Merlin, Frodo, Tipperaiah, and Sneaky Peet. A rabbit named Zowie. A pug dog names Charlotte... So why did I pick the most common name in the world for my cat?

Kitty-chan came to live with me in the winter of 2004. I was living in a small apartment in Nishi Mikado in Kamakura, and pets were not allowed. One night my friends and I had a big dinner. We noticed some stray cats hanging around outside the veranda so we gave them some food. (Bad idea if you're not supposed to have a cat.) Well, most of the cats realized that that meal was just a special treat, but one ginger colored cat just kept hanging around. She was so persistent that she even ran into the house every time I opened the door to hang out my laundry. I kept putting her out, and she kept coming back.

I went away for Christmas vacation, and when I came back ten days later the cat was still there. Not only that, but she had become very sick with a bad cold. Summer said, "You better let that cat in the house!" So I did. I decided she needed to go to the vet, so I packed her up in a cardboard box and my friend drove us to the local animal hospital. At the vet's reception counter, they asked me the cat's name. Name? She didn't have one. "I don't know. Kitty, I guess." So when I finally talked to the vet, he said, "What's wrong with Kitty-chan?" Kitty-chan? Oh!

Well, Kitty-chan has a few problems. The vet thinks that she was born with some birth defects. She only has one eye, and she can't hear. In addition, she breathes strangely. When she purrs the purr seems to come out backwards!

She's an unusual cat. She hates other cats, but likes some dogs. She used to have terrible table manners: The first time Summer's father-in-law came to visit she stole the fish off his plate at dinner! But she wouldn't do that now. She loves Forest. Most cats wouldn't like a noisy baby at all, but since Kitty-chan can't hear, she doesn't mind the baby at all.

She's an unusual cat, and she deserves an unusual name, but she'll always be Kitty-chan. She doesn't mind. After all, she can't hear her name!