Fuzzwald 1993-2010

My parents recently came to see the progress on our new house the other day and in conversation told me how Fuzzwald, my cat, probably didn't make it through her last fight. They said she had left, injured, like most animals do when they go to die. This one's for you ol' girl.

Fuzzwald came into our lives when I was in 6th grade. My best friend's grandma's cat had had kittens and after a little persuasion my mom agreed to let me get one. I named her Fuzzwald because she was a beautiful gray fuzzy kitten. I thought she would sound rich and distinguished with the name "wald" added to the end of her name. My family always called her Fuzzbucket.

Fuzzwald blessed my family with two black kittens. Two of whom she would not deliver until I was by her side comforting her I guess through labor. (More than what a middle schooler wanted to see .) Bob and Chester were the two children she had and fought with every day they were together. Chester was an ordinary cat, I guess there's not a lot I remember about her. Bob on the other hand was special. Bob had been in so many fights that he barely had any teeth left in his mouth. He was fixed early on and got fat fast. When we would pull clothes out of the dryer we would throw them in a chair in our living room and Bob would jump on them and if they were my dad's blue jeans or his tube socks Bob would knaw on them with the few side teeth he had. Bob was definitely a sweetheart but more about his mother.

Me and Fuzzwald had a love hate special relationship I guess you could say. She was a hunter. She loved to attack, especially my hands and legs. I had sooo many scratches from you Fuzzwald I'm surprised the scars aren't still showing. Fuzzwald loved to hide behind things and attack your legs when you would walk by. I don't mean playfully attack. She would latch on and start kicking her backfeet on your skin until you had nothing left. She would always trick me because she would come up and love on me, play and give me those big kitty eyes then attack me out of no where.

Fuzzwald loved to ride. She would jump on my shoulder and sit there as I walked around the house. She would also sit on my back, like she was the queen of course, as I walked on all fours through the house. Her ultimate favorite was to ride in a cardboard box. She would hold on as I pulled and or pushed her countless times as fast as I possibly could up and down the hallway.

She was definitely a thrillseeker. I say that because she was nicknamed our kamikaze cat. Anytime she was outside and we would drive up into the driveway she would see just how close she could get to the front tire without getting run over. She was the boss around that block for sure. She definitely would hold her own when other cats came around.

I had a lot of great memories with Fuzzwald, but one of my favorites is a joke we played on my mom. My mom and Fuzzwald were always butting heads. Fuzzwald would always lay on a blanket on the top of our couch. Well Fuzzwald would leave little surprises around the house just to tick my mom off. Well one day she left a juicy one on that blanket on the couch. Well my mom found it and had a fit. Well a few days later we put one of my dad's fake pooh props on the same spot and called for momma to "come look what Fuzzwald had done again!" Oh the anger in my mom's eyes when she saw that fake pooh. It was too funny! Let's just say she didn't laugh immediatley after that one, it took a few years.

Fuzzwald you definitely hold a special place in my heart. Thanks for all of the years old girl and thanks for making me smile.