Aby-a-Day – April 24: Kylie’s 10th Birthday (Friday Flashback)

Today is a very special day – it’s Kylie’s 10th birthday!

Of course, we don’t know her exact birthday, but we got her on June 20, and she was about 7 or 8 weeks old. So, counting back, we decided that her birthday was April 24.

My husband wanted a tiny girl kitten. I found a Craigslist post for free kittens in Quincy, and when I emailed the man, he said he had mostly white kittens and one grey tabby. My husband kind of wanted a tabby, but by the time we got to the house, only the white kittens were left. We saw them running around, and then heard a tiny “mew” from a side table behind us. The tiny mew came from a tiny, white kitten with two grey stripes on her head. And that was that.

Kylie was tiny when we got her, too.

She was literally the same size as a Beanie Baby cat! We got to meet her mother, who was a very petite, slender all-white shorthair with odd-coloured eyes, one green and one blue. Her name was Mary Jane, and she was so pretty. To this day, I wish I’d taken a camera along and gotten a photo of her.

At the time, I had my two Siamese, Harri, aged 14, and Patrick, aged 11. We had just gotten Tessie a month before, and she was meant to be Kylie’s mother figure and playmate, since the boys were a little old to be much fun for an active, lively kitten. This is one of Kylie’s first encounters with Tessie…it got better.

Kylie was a very lively kitten.

She was the type who would play with anything.

Anything!

A piece of plastic foil wrapping paper was an awesome toy. I think she played with this for days.

Despite being 14 years older than Kylie, Harri really loved her. He always loved other cats and kittens; even though he was an only cat until he was 3, Harri was the most welcoming, friendly cat I’ve ever known – he never minded having other cats around him.

Kylie looked up to Tessie as her role model.

“This is how you lie on a hot day, Kylie.” “Okay, Tessie, am I doing it right?”

Like I said…Kylie was tiny. Look at her compared to Tessie in this photo!

She was tough, though. She could hold her own against Tessie, despite the size difference.

Tessie was so patient with her. Of course, Tessie had one litter of kittens before I adopted her, so she knew how to handle Kylie.

Kylie and Tessie were almost always together. Even today they still sleep together.

Kylie was also fond of Patrick.

They would play together. At the time, Patrick was our largest cat; he was a bit chunky at 13-14lbs. It was comical to watch Kylie and Patrick play together because of their size difference.

Patrick was always the last cat to accept a newcomer. I guess Kylie won him over.

Trick even shared the cave at the top of the cat tree with her!

This photo of the four of them sleeping together on my bed in my old apartment was my Christmas card in 2005.

Kylie loved to play and cuddle with stuffed kittens. This was one of her most favourite “dollies.”

Harri died in August of 2006, and then that following December, Gun-Hee joined the family. Kylie was only a year older than Gun-Hee, so they were pretty close.

She took on the role that Tessie had taken with her.

You would find them together a lot.

They used to play together all the time.

They had projects, like trying to open the dishwasher. Gun-Hee was the brains and Kylie was the muscles of the operation.

They hung out together.

She helped him celebrate his first birthday. She was really sad when Gun-Hee died and she mourned him. She didn’t eat treats for a week.

She was quick to accept Jacoby, too. I think she was happy to have another Aby to play with.

Kylie and Jake have always gotten along.

She was one of the first to not hiss at him and let him play with her, actually.

They like to go out to the park together, too…although Kylie isn’t as brave around dogs as Jake is.

But since Kylie is four years older than Jake, their bond isn’t quite the same as the one she and Gun-Hee’ shared.

They share a love of high places.

This is also a common sight at our house: Jake cuddling with Tessie and Kylie.

Angel always seems to be the odd cat out. Of all the cats, Kylie and Angel probably interact the least. I think that’s more Angel’s doing than Kylie’s, though.

I had Kylie’s DNA tested at UC Davis. We think her father was a tabby Maine Coon. Since her mother was a white shorthair, those dominant traits covered up anything her father was carrying. I know that she does carry the genes for long hair, dilute, and tabby, and that her ancestors originated in England rather than the Middle East or Asia. Underneath her dominant white, she is probably a non-dilute tabby, and she may actually be a torbie (UCD doesn’t have a test for sex-linked red). While Kylie is small like her mother, she is built like a Maine Coon, with a long tail, lanky legs and a boxy muzzle. She’s just a miniature shorthaired version.

She also does a mean Hello Kitty impersonation!

It’s hard to believe she’s 10 years old. Happy birthday, Kylie!