Goodbye to a Lovely Baby-Kin

Another of our baby-kins went to sleep today. Little Aramintie was five years and five months old. She was born in our dining room on September 29, 2006, along with two brothers, Samwise and Frodo. These three cuties are what we call "The Babies", and no cats come sweeter.

Aramintie

29 Sept 2006 - 25 Feb 2012

I don't usually do this, but Elizabeth wrote some really sweet stuff about her, so I've copied some of it here: She was the first of the babies of Olivia's last litter to pop into this world. She was the cutest little thing from her first appearance. She was a very dark tortie who looked so much like her mother that it was disconcerting. She had her mother's round face, her mother's buff chin, her mother's round legs, and even her mother's three buff toes on her back foot. It took us about a week to pick the perfect names for the three surviving litter-mates. We debated on Arwen and Tinkerbell before settling on Aramintie. She fit the name perfectly and acquired several nicknames over the years. Maid Mintie, The Mintie-Fish, A Baramintie-Fish, Little Mama, and Mintiekins.

Aramintie was the cutest little kitty you've ever seen. Everything about her was round. She had perfect little peppermint toes and the roundest golden eyes that could look right through you. She was a little, live stuffed animal. Cuddly, soft, round, and wonderful. She didn't like being held, but she eventually got to like it enough that she would be pushing away from you as much as she could, all the while purring like a little motor boat. She never ate wet food, only kibbles. From a baby kitten she never cared.

Her favorite toys were little fur balls, which she would have full-blown wild-manzies with, stuffing them in her mouth as much as she could and growling away at it until she vanquished her little toy. Catnip was a wonderful thing, which made her totally nutsy, causing her to roll around the floor, going from one toy to the next. She never meowed, not even as a baby. However, she had no trouble growling. Mostly at toys while she was playing. You could here the low sound in another room. She usually played alone, and didn't require too much companionship. The other kitties, particularly the mama's babies, thought that she was there mama when she was sleeping. You would go upstairs and find Avis or Manly or Frodo cuddled up against the sleeping Mintie-Fish, and you would know that they thought she was Olivia. :o) Aramintie also loved to play with the laser toy. She would be a dark shadow zooming around the rooms after the little red dot. She was really amazingly fast and rarely ever missed it. Aramintie always loved another kitty to cuddle with her, although she never really sought companionship herself. Her human involvement consisted of a little frenzy every day around 2:30pm. Like clockwork, she would be at the computer chairs, stretching one paw onto your legs. Her claws were unmistakable! ;o) You would pet her, brush her, sometimes even hold her. She really was a little stuffed animal. She would sleep with her chin stuck straight out in front of her on the bed, or curled up into such a tight little upside down ball. Her favorite spots were on dirty towels in the bathroom (sometimes she would even pull a towel onto the floor so she could sleep on it), against Mom's pillow on her bed, the top story of the kitty tree house while we would be upstairs watching movies, or on the top of my piano. She was a very musical kitty, I could play my piano while she was sleeping on the top and she would care. Of course, she would stare at me through one opened eye over the top of the sheet music, but if I pretended not to notice her, she would go back to sleep. However, if I hit a wrong note, the eyes would pop open and I'd be in for more staring. Funny baby. But she didn't mind showtoons, classical, even opera, as long as it was on-key.

This morning Dad had to take her to the vet. You know, it doesn't matter how many we have or have lost, each one is so special in their own way that it really hurts to lose them. At least she won't hurt anymore. Knowing that she is waiting for us with Dee, Sydney, Caddy, Aline, and Little Joe, I still can't help crying.

Aramintie looked and felt like a little plush animal with soft, thick fur and all of her features were really found. Poor girlie, she had the same tooth disease and cancer that Aline and Little Joe died of in the last two years, and she probably never remembers a time without some problems. We've known this day would come for over a year now, but it doesn't make it any easier. She was a beautiful kitty and a fabulous pet, and God was so good to give her to us for those five and a half years. I love you, Aramintie.