| I picked Junior out of a family of five tigers at Lollypop Farm 18 years ago. I should say he picked me, because he was the only one who came up to me. I thought his downward tail was different and meant he was special. Now I understand it means your cat is developmentally challenged and will urinate all over the place for oh, about fourteen years until your other cat passes and then you realize that, after thousands of dollars of damage and several sedatives later (not for the cat), he was just insecure and stressed because you gave him a beautiful home(s), a pampered life and a step-brother who, as it turns out, was jealous of HIM but at least did not pee on every surface in sight.
Whattaya gonna do? I fell in love that very first day. My best friend/father figure had passed away a year earlier, possessing the most unearthly blue eyes I have ever seen, eyes that could change from freeze your heart Antarctic Blue to the warmest Caribbean Cerulean Blue imaginable. Junior's eyes were the cat equivalent, with diamond shaped, tiny pupils floating in a sea of brilliant flecked jade green, and when you looked closer, this beautiful rich color seemed to stretch out and engulf you, like you were looking into some infinite universe where surely could be found the source of his ancient feline wisdom.
OK, I was wrong about the ancient wisdom part, Junior was not the smartest cat, but he was gorgeous so what else did he need? The rust, gray and black markings of his fur, the white mark on his chest, his roman nose - I was and am still smitten It was not 18 years of total bliss, but in the end he was unconditional love, he taught me how to love unconditionally, he made me a better person. I will be looking for him first thing after I take my last breath.
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