Prose for Pets - V V

(This is the closest picture I could find to match V V, without the black V on her head. As soon as I can scan a picture of the real V V, I will post it.)

V V
1969 - 1986


I’ve always been a cat person. Don’t get me wrong, I love dogs, too, but cats are my favorite pets of all. I’ve had many pets over the years, but my first cat will always hold a special place in my heart.

When I was seven years old, my parents allowed us to have an indoor cat. I’m not sure where the little kitten came from, but she instantly became a part of our family.

A solid white Persian cat with faint black markings on top of her head, this little bundle of white fluff was so cute and my brother and sister and I argued over what to name her. They wanted cutesy names like Snowball or Fluffy; I wanted something unusual.

Because of the black markings on top of her head were in the shape of the letter V, I convinced my siblings the name V V was appropriate for our beloved cat. And V V she would be all through my childhood.

For those of you who have cats, you know a cat chooses her person, not the other way around. V V tolerated everyone in our family, but she loved me. She would sleep at the foot of my bed or lay on my stomach whenever I was reading.

She loved to sit on the divider between the living room and the hallway – a little half wall with spindles. She would sit very still and then swat at people with her paw, as they would walk down the hall.

Or she would hid in a corner and jump out at your ankles whenever you passed by.

V V was especially bad at Christmas time when she would try and climb the Christmas tree. In the early 1970s, most ornaments were glass and we lost quiet a few ornaments because of her adventures with the tree.

By the time I was married, V V was over 10 years old and becoming slow with her old age. My brother and sister wanted a dog for a pet because V V was no longer fun to play with. My new husband did not want an indoor cat and V V was too pampered and set in her ways to start being an outdoor cat.

So, V V went to live with friends for the remainder of her life, and she lived to the grand old age of 17. Although I’ve had many cats since that time, V V was the first and I will always remember her fondly.