Andy and Starr

"Andy was what ... 6, 7, 8 ? The local humane society wouldn't let me adopt because I was a single working mother. I had never been so embarrassed in front of my child, ever. We went to the local pet store. They had a litter of kittens scheduled to be taken to vet for euth because they had coccidia. One jumped from about 6 feet to the floor. She was so tiny. We said WE'LL TAKE HER! The first day or two was touch and go, but she eventually survived to be a tiny cat with a huge attitude. When she got sick at about 16 or so, and I was sub-q'ing her 2 times a day, she couldn't stand, she couldn't fight the needle, I told Andy, it's time. He said 'NO MOM, SHE'S MY SISTER!' So he moved into a pet friendly apartment (the one he died in) and took his Starrbaby. I showed him how to sub-q her, needle bags lines, and he said no, he wasn't going to be doing that. She made a full recovery. She had pined for her boy all the years after he grew up and left home. She outlived her boy. The one thing that struck me when he killed himself was that Starr was in the apt. I could not figure out how he could leave her. He adored her. After his funeral, my sister Sig took Starr back to TN with her (I had a house full of dogs by then and she was too old to jump on counters to get away from them. She wasn't crazy about DOGS in the house!) She died in TN at the age of 21... A tiny kitten scheduled for death overcame everything. She was Andy's sister." ~Karen, Andy's Mom