Daily Photo: Mimi Becomes “One of the Girls”, 2010

Here, the “Golden Girls”, the “Tri-color Trio”, my three most senior kitties, Kelly at 16, Peaches at 20 and Cookie at 18, have their dinner on the cabinet in the middle of the kitchen while Mimi longingly, or slyly, I wasn’t sure, looks on. Apparently, she had a plan.

Mimi was relegated to the floor with her kids so that I could watch the three senior girls eat their dinner and assess their appetite and eating habits as I did daily to ensure they were eating well. Peaches, fighting kidney failure, definitely needed the supervision for her occasional struggles with acid reflux, one of the side effects of the condition. Kelly was timid about the kids and preferred being with her sisters, and I was happy to ensure she ate in peace without being nudged out of her dish by a three-year-old. Cookie didn’t really need the supervision but she kept an eye on Peaches and so she got to eat next to her; besides that, Cookie was my girl and that was reason enough.

Mimi didn’t hear the part about the age category but decided she was special too and should eat in the place of honor with her sisters instead of on the floor with the kids. Sometimes, she had had enough of those kids. And then there was Dickie who was with us then, and could hoover up anything faster than anyone, and then start charming each of the other cats for what was left in their bowl.

So Mimi began appearing on the cabinet at meal time, waiting for her portion. Mimi never asked for anything, she was always grateful just to be here. It took me a few days to catch on as I tried to convince her they were getting the same food she was, not realizing it wasn’t the food she was after, but the status.

Mimi is tiny and quiet but she is also persistent, and one day I decided yes, indeed, she was special. Because she is. And when Cookie developed kidney failure the following year, she kept an eye on Cookie the same as Cookie had done for Peaches, and then she also did with Kelly, until just a few weeks ago.

Occasionally there is a photo that didn’t make it as the daily photo—often I have a half dozen or more to choose from, and sometimes I don’t have the chance to post a photo on a particular day, so, darn it, I don’t get to share my household in a special moment. But here and there I’ll pull an unused photo from recent years, and while they don’t really fit into the “vintage photo” category, those taken before I began The Creative Cat, I still like to be clear about their time period for readers who follow the daily exploits of my creative cats.

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