"Meow Meow" by Jenn Pearce

When I was a really little girl, I wanted a kitty. My parents heard nothing but kitty this and cat that for a very long time. Finally my mom took me to a farm when I was around 5ish. The family that lived there was moving to Australia. They had too many animals to immigrate with and they were trying to find the best homes they could. So they took us to meet “Meow Meow.” She was named such because she would talk back to you. Now I thought she was the prettiest cat I had ever seen; my mom, on the other hand, thought she just looked like any other tabby. Mom was ready to leave, but I wouldn’t hear of it. No, I had to take Meow Meow home.

Meow Meow's family told us about how she had been terribly injured, and when she was taken to the vet, the people who had taken her in couldn’t afford the surgery so they said to put her down. The vet knew that the injuries weren’t fatal and did the surgery anyway then placed the cat on this farm where she had lived for almost 7 years.

Meow was a grumpy old cat from the minute we got her and she never did change. We had an amazing yard for living in a suburb. It was like a tiny forest hidden among the tract houses. Meow was often found sunning on the brick walkway to the front door. Though I doubt that she would ever admit it, I know she loved living with us. She would laze around for hours waiting for my dad to get off work. For some reason he was her favorite person.

This cat had absolutely no fear of anything. She was the boss and let everyone know it. I don’t think I will ever forget standing in my driveway chatting to a friend and seeing her lazing on the walkway as she always did. Then a guy with a young pit bull (it was close to full grown but you could tell it was still a puppy) started to jog past. Meow sat up and a look of “Who do you think you are?!” crossed her whiskers. She walked ever so calmly along the pathway to the dog and swatted him about the nose. Then just as calmly walked back to where she had been sleeping. I think I had to pick my chin up off the ground. The dog whimpered a little as he and his owner continued on their way.

Meow had a good long life; she died in her sleep when I was in my early twenties. She was a big part of my childhood and I think her temperament helped me learn how to deal with not so friendly people and animals. I learned that even though someone might seem to be a little rough around the edges, if you put in a little time and some friendliness you can get them to purr for you.

Jenn Pearce

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