While observing and interacting with adoptables at the ASPCA cat habitat in New York City, I spotted a small, lone tabby with a fuzzy round head and lean body. Thinking it was possibly a boy kitten, I kept my eye on the little guy from a distance. But as soon as he fixed his gaze on me, I knew this was The One. The name I’d already chosen would work equally well for a boy or girl: Corey.
I walked to the office to get background information on him, but the kitten turned out to be neither male nor youngster, rather a “5 years of age, domestic sh/mix, br tabby, cat” female. I couldn’t wait to get her home; and once there Corey showed herself to be a wise old soul with a lot to teach me.
She didn’t make me a cat-lover; I believe I was born that way, always drawn to kittens and cats from earliest childhood. But she did make me a champion for their welfare and a cheerleader for all.
Long before cats took over the internet, Corey was patiently posing for cute pictures–a photographer’s dream. One of my friends liked to call her “Little Monkey”; to another, she was simply “Cors.” To me, she was the center of my world.
She made me laugh when she paraded around the house with a toy mouse in her mouth. She made me cry when she had to have most of her teeth extracted due to dental disease. But that didn’t stop her from clutching those “mousies” in her jaws, and it certainly didn’t stop her from eating with great gusto.
Corey loved everybody and everybody loved Corey. It was because I basked in the abundance of her love that I began caring for feral cats in my neighborhood. We had love to spare and love to share. In time, we adopted two kittens who adored her too.
Corey is no longer with us but still inspires me and animates our world with her unconditional and boundless love.
(c) Kitty Katz, 2022
