Mr. Kitty, my faithful mouser and companion of 12 years, succumbed to feline diabetes a few days ago. He had been diagnosed about 2 years ago and has been better and worse over the course of time, but it finally caught up to him.

We got Mr. Kitty in Los Angeles, and a bitty baby. He was actually my daughter’s cat, but he spent time on my shoulder as a kitten, helping me do bookkeeping. He was so small when we got him that he could actually chase his tail while on my shoulder!

When we moved to the ranch, he rode up with me in the rental truck. Since he was so freaked out in the truck (for 2 1/2 days), I had him on a short leash tied right next to me the whole time. To keep him calm, I petted him constantly. The result was that he became my “Helsinki Kitty” (after the Helsinki syndrome where kidnap victims or prisoners start to develop affinity for their captors). After that he was MY kitty, staying by my side for the remaining 11 years of his life.

He was a wonderful mouser and kept our house and barn free of mice and other varmints (an important thing living on a ranch). Every time he’d catch a mouse, rat, chipmunk (called “Timber Tigers” around here), he’d bring it to me and I’d give him a bowl of milk. Sometimes he brought me two or three a DAY! One time I saw him dragging a small wild rabbit that he had caught … it was almost as big as he was!

He was a good kitty, and we’ll miss him.

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