The One with Tip Toe's 19th (and Probably Last) Birthday

I've had my fair share of pets in my 27 years of life. Probably more than 60... From a flock of zebra finches to a warren of rabbits, from a herd of guinea pigs to a school of fish, so on and so forth. My very first "pet" was a pair of tadpoles my dad found on a bike ride or something when I was about 7. I named them Blacky and Snacky. They died while being taken care of by our neighbor when we were on vacation. My second pet was a guinea pig named Tanmerry. 

My third pet was/is our cat named Tip Toe. 

At the end of October 1994, my aunt and uncle found abandoned kittens in their yard. Being the sweet and caring for animals people that they are, they took the kittens in and hand fed them. I desperately wanted one but the 'rents said no. My uncle had to take the kittens to work with him every day to feed them and since he shared an office with my dad, eventually my dad gave in to their cuteness and let me get one. I remember before we went and picked her up we stopped off at a bread store and I swear we spent five hours shopping for ingredients... I named my kitty Tip Toe because that was what I decided I would name my first kitty when I was about 5 years old.

Today is Tip Toe's 19th birthday!

Today my mom took Tip Toe to the vet and found out she most likely has cancer. 

Nobody/nothing lives forever, but it's still hard to imagine life without Tip Toe! It feels like she's been around forever!

Granted she's not the nicest of cats. In fact, I'd say she's downright mean. But every once in awhile she can be affectionate; only towards my mom these days.

Once upon a time I read somewhere that the reason cats like to sit on your things is they want to feel important. If that's the case, then Tip Toe wants to be queen of the castle!

Tip Toe has already outlived Sneakers our beloved Sheltie. 

Now she's battling life against Gypsy the Australian Shepherd!

One of my most favorite pictures of Tip Toe. She's ready for dinner and waiting patiently!

Every time I've been home over the last several years, Tip Toe has gotten skinnier and skinnier and skinnier.

Today at the vet she only weighed 5 pounds :( They ran a bunch of tests, results to be known tomorrow. The vet thinks she has cancer of the intestines, hence she's so darn skinny even though she eats her weight, quite literally, in food every day.

I'm not looking forward to the circle of Tip Toe's life coming to an end. But I do believe our pets go to heaven so we will be reunited!

Happy 19th birthday Tip Toe! You're such a pretty kitty!