My sister-in-law and I went to an adoption event at PetSmart. We were both looking for rescue kittens. I specifically was looking for a gray kitten since I’d had 2 gray cats as a child. I didn’t see any gray kittens but my sister-in-law found a tuxedo kitten and fell in love. She said, “here, hold this one” and pushed this little white kitten into my hands. It was truly love at first sight. Ricky is a polydactyl and he was this tiny, active and LOUD kitten with HUGE paws! He was everything I didn’t want but he climbed up my jacket and onto my shoulder and that was it. He screamed all the way home. The first night, he sprayed cat litter and cat poo all over the bathroom.  He even tracked poopy paw prints on my white carpet down the hall. He did nothing but yell for the first week!  But somehow, we could never be mad at him. He was always either on my or my husband’s lap. If he wanted up, he would wrap his thumbs around our hands and we’d haul him up onto our laps. He has charisma with a capital “C”!

He’s now 10 years old and I would say he hasn’t changed much. He still gets on the counter when we’re not looking and tracks muddy footprints around the sink. He yells at us if he thinks we’re not performing to his specifications and he’s still the most loving kitty ever! He will curl up on our laps for hours! He loves his head to be rubbed and he will curl up on my stomach when we let him in our bedroom in the mornings. His purr is loud enough to hear in the next room. We recently moved across town and had to leave the “boys” (Ricky and our other cat, Freddy) in the old house for a night. It felt wrong. We kept saying, “this just feels wrong without the boys”. Our life would be very empty without Ricky.

I love Ricky’s personality more than anything. I swear he’s a kid in a cat suit. He is a HUGE cat as well!  He’s very fit and I often worry he’s too skinny (the vet says he’s fine) but he weighs over 13 lbs of solid muscle. When he gets his teeth cleaned, the vet says she has to use the doggy tools on him.  She said she’s never seen cat teeth as big as his. Our friends describe him as the “Arnold Schwarzenegger” of cats or “macho” or a “man’s cat”. It’s funny that our male friends aren’t afraid to admit they like him. Ricky’s favorite thing in the world, besides sleeping on our laps, is food! He doesn’t care much for toys (they’re beneath his dignity) but he loves his catnip plant, and he adores his night time cat meat before getting put to bed in his room for the night. He can’t sleep with us because he is not a respectful bed partner. He starts hollering earlier and earlier each morning for us to come and feed him. Ricky has many nicknames – Ricky Ticky Two Shoes, Richard, Richard the Mouse Hearted (he’s very sensitive and hides when people come to visit), Ricardo, Richard pronounces “REE-shard” and the list goes on.

I will never regret the day my sister-in-law pushed Ricky into my hands. He is the cat I will miss the most when he’s gone. I don’t know what we would do without him! Thank you Purrfect Pals!