Tia and I were brought together in July of 1990. She was only 2 months old, and the cutest little orange tabby I've ever seen, including her huge bright blue eyes. My parents never kept any of our pets for long while we were growing up, so I vowed when I finally moved out on my own, I was getting a pet and keeping it forever. I was only 16 when I got my first apartment, and promptly found a cat to go with it.
Tia was a destructive little kitty, ripping apart my couch, ripping my new dining room chairs, poking holes in my waterbed.

She ate all my plants, and drew a lot of blood from my arms, but I loved that cat like crazy. She loved to go on car rides, so I would bring her and put her on my lap and she would just stare out the window at the big world, as she was not an outdoor cat. The thing she loved the most was her food. Tia could eat, and had the body to prove it. At one point when I brought her in for a check up, she was up to 17 pounds. She loved food right up until her very last day, I was feeding her with my fingers, as that was the only way she would eat.

We found out she had a tumor. It was far too big, and she was far too old to operate on it. My cat was 18 year old, she was with me more than half of my life. We brought her home to have a last few days with her and just really be with her. I laid with her and petted her and kissed her for 2 days. She purred and absolutely loved it.

The day I was forced to make that decision, she had a seizure and had stopped eating and drinking. My other half brought her in for me, while I sat outside the vets office wailing and crying.

It was the worst thing I've been through, and I miss her so much it hurts.

It's only been about a month, and I still hear her come down the stairs when I feed my other cats. I still look for her or talk about her without realizing she's gone. I'll miss her forever. You were the best cat in the world Tia. I told her that too before I had to say good bye.