Pet Story of the Week: Ollie the Cat

Have you ever had a pet that wasn’t just a pet? Yes, I know that they are all family, but my cat Ollie was different. She wasn’t just a family member. She was my best friend. She always knew when I was upset about something and knew my secrets. 

I got Ollie for Christmas in 1999. Her mother had been abused right before she had her kittens but she passed after having them. My parents got her for me right after she was born but the shelter kept her until Christmas Eve. 

We would go to my aunt’s house on Christmas Eve before the candlelight service at church. My dad left about forty five minutes before my mom and I did to go by the church to get ice for dinner at my aunt’s house. I didn’t think anything of it. When we got to her house my dad wasn’t there. He actually got there a few minutes after we did. I asked him why he was getting there so late. He said that the church didn’t have any ice so he had to go to the store to get it. Little did I know that Ollie was “hidden” at my aunt’s house so my dad had gone over to get her and bring her home for me on Christmas morning.  They had to get her before we went over for dinner because she was meowing so loud my mom could hear her on the phone. Ollie was in my aunt’s bathroom with the door closed and her bedroom door closed. 

I never got up before 7 AM on Christmas morning. It was usually my dad that got excited and woke up early to open gifts. That year, I woke up around 5 AM because I heard a kitten meowing. My mom told me I was dreaming and to go back to sleep. An hour later I heard the meowing again. I told my parents that I couldn’t go back to sleep because it sounded like this kitten was hurt. So they told me to go back to my room and they would be up in a few minutes. When I came out to the living room my mom was sitting in her chair holding the sweetest little kitten! I knew I had heard a kitten meowing! 

Ollie was two months old when I got her that Christmas. She was the runt of her litter and was so small she could fit in my hand. She was the sweetest kitten. She would curl up beside me at bedtime and then sleep on my pillows at night. I would reach up to pet her in my sleep and she grabbed my hand to give me kisses. 

She wasn’t just a pet. Like I mentioned earlier, she was my best friend. I told her things that no one else knew because I knew she wasn’t going to tell anyone. Ollie went with me when I moved from Illinois to Georgia. When we moved to Savannah she went with us. She loved laying on our apartment balcony all day. 

In November 2018 she passed away. Ollie had a well loved life and I know she’s still with us every day. In November 2019, we adopted our dog Chester on the day before it would have been a year of Ollie passing. It was Ollie telling us it was time for a new furry in our lives. Ollie will always be my kitten! She was in my life for 19 years and I miss her every day. 

Thank you to Cate for submitting a Pet Story of the Week about Ollie- how sweet!