Tsuki: The Precious Kitten Full of Love and Healing

Little Tsukihime, Tsuki for short (‘tsuki’ being ‘moon’ and ‘hime’ being ‘princess’), may be small, but she is mighty. A whole lot of love and healing came our way at the end of this summer in the form of one tiny, adorable kitten. Our previous kitty companion of 13 years suddenly grew gravely ill and passed at the beginning of June. It hit hard. It was completely unexpected. A void was left in our home, and nothing was the same. We would anticipate seeing our former fluffy cat waiting for us at the window like always or greet us in the morning for cuddles and food, but she was no longer here to do so. As anyone who has lost their furry companion can tell you, it hurts, and no words can adequately describe the sense of loss. Needless to say, it wasn’t a particularly fun summer. Tsuki wouldn’t stand for that, however; she found it unacceptable.

We had been slowly putting out feelers for potential new kitty companions and piecing our lives back together, but nothing felt quite right. Then, suddenly, an ad appeared in the newspaper for adoptable kittens. We had never seen such an ad before, and it felt like a sign. Everything went so smoothly, and soon we found ourselves with an absolutely tiny kitten in our home. Tsuki was probably a mere pound when we brought her home; it is no exaggeration when I say she was absolutely tiny—she was an itty-bitty thing. She could fit into a single hand. She was about three months old, but she didn’t let her tiny stature hold her back. She had no qualms with exerting her will, following her curiosity, and doing as she pleased. She was a fierce, little fluffball.

Tsuki has gained a great number of nicknames over the two months since she joined the family. The first nicknames she received being “Squeaks,” “Squeaky,” or “Squeakers” for her squeaky little meow. While on the phone with my friend, Tsuki’s “meow” had my friend believing that we had gotten a bird rather than a kitten. She loved to follow us around, squeaking at us for attention and food. The little nut got so excited about the prospect of food that she would follow us around, circling us like a shark, which often caused her to almost be stepped on, much to our dismay (she’s just so sneaky and tiny). With her being so tiny, my sister loves to call her “Little Foot.”

She’s also gained the nicknames of “Mufasa” and “Sour Patch” (or “Sour Patch Kid/Kid-ten”). This nutty kitten loves to jump onto people’s laps and the chairs next to people (when my cousin and his friend visited over the summer, they were smitten by her and dubbed her the lucky cat—whenever she curled up in their laps, she’d bless them with the best roll of the dice); she doesn’t always make the jump, though. One day when she was attempting to climb up to my lap, she misjudged the distance, digging her claws into the chair and clinging for what seemed to be dear life (she was only a couple of inches off the ground, though, since she had stretched herself completely out). The scene reminded me so strongly of the scene from The Lion King where Mufasa clings to the cliff face before Scar flings him off. Tsuki only lasted a few seconds before she fell. She often pulls a “Mufasa,” whether it be with a chair, the couch, her scratching perch, or some other high location. She’s quite resilient about it and always pulls away unscathed, so we find her antics rather humorous. She earned the nickname “Sour Patch” for her other antics. Like Sour Patch kids that are sour then sweet, Tsuki will start off sweet, cuddling your lap and/or licking your hand while purring, before she turns sour and starts chomping on you. It’s always a sudden switch, leaving you no time to prepare; she loves pulling this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde stunt. Honestly, it feels like she loves to keep us guessing. All too often she pulls these stunts while on my lap. I’ll often be writing short stories or working on art with her contently snoozing on my lap. Then she abruptly changes gears, trying to chomp on my arms/hands and playing with my necklaces. She keeps me on my toes and ensures that I can find joy in the little things, acting as my cuddle buddy, writing/art companion, and playful cohort.

Tsuki is such a goof. She’s always full of antics, pulling off the most surprising feats. When we adopted Tsuki, her foster mom insisted that she wasn’t a jumper or a climber. We quickly learned otherwise. We adopted her over the weekend, and after spending the weekend with her we had to go back to work, as life waits for no one. Once I got home from babysitting, she came running up to me and launched herself at my leg, clinging to me as if I would disappear again. It was rather surprising but incredibly adorable and heartwarming. She also loves to jump up onto people’s legs/backs and climb up to see what they’re doing; she’s done it to me so many times I’ve lost count. Her favorite times to do so are when people are making food or when I’m brushing my teeth. She’ll climb up and perch herself onto my shoulder, trying to snatch the toothbrush from me. She’s also done so after I get home from work and then decides to sling herself over my shoulder as if she’s a sack of potatoes. She’s content to stay there for several minutes, so I suppose it’s comfortable. Tsuki is such a character.

She can be a rather hyper kitten; she's the complete opposite from our previous cat. Where the former kitty companion was chill and thought climbing/jumping was often too much effort, Tsuki is the kitten version of the Energizer Bunny. She keeps going and going and going until she can’t go any longer and passes out into a deep slumber. My sister decided to get her a playpen to act as a “time out space” for when Tsuki gets too nutty. Funnily enough, Tsuki adores that playpen and willingly goes inside it all the time. To add to the irony, she even put herself in “time out” once because her hyperactive jumping and running ended up flipping the play tent on its side; she hadn’t figured out how to jump out of it, so she effectively trapped herself until we flipped the tent right-side up again. She immediately began to race around again. She’ll play with anything and everything, but her favorite “toys” tend to be caps, pencils/pens, and bags. Tsuki often snatches writing utensils (or dining utensils for that matter), caps, and bags from us to claim as our own. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to acquire it.

She’s had no qualms of making this space her own, inviting herself wherever she pleases. She adores the porch (as well as hunting bugs and knocking things over while out there). She claims any small box we receive; she ignored all of the larger boxes, but as soon as I received a box that held my new InuYasha shirt from Target, she immediately hopped inside, refusing to relinquish it. She called dibs. She tries to climb curtains, trashcans, and even windows and walls for that matter. Tsuki doesn’t let “reality” dictate what’s possible; if she wants it, she goes for it. She gives it her all, and often works herself into a frenzy, which leads to her panting like crazy. She’s a nut, but she’s our adorable nut.

She’s grown so much over these two months; Tsuki’s probably about five pounds now, and she just recently lost her first baby tooth. As she’s grown, so has our love for her and the healing of our hearts. After months of not having a furry companion awaiting our return, we have a loving kitten that eagerly greets us again. There’s never a dull moment with Tsuki. Even bedtime isn’t safe from her nutty reign; she loves racing from room to room, under beds, into closets, on top of dressers, and then trying to climb doors, which usually ends with her locking herself into the room. She’s such a nutty goofball. She soothes our soul with unconditional love, kitty snuggles, purrs, and laughter. She knew we needed her, and she ensured that she made her way to our home. Each furry companion is irreplaceable, and she made sure that she was so uniquely herself there was no comparison to our previous kitty. You couldn’t even possibly mistake them for each other. She keeps things lively with her loud personality; she deserves the Empawyee of the month award now and every month. Tsuki embodies so many life lessons. She arrived when we needed her most and ensures that we keep in touch with the fun side of life; she refuses to let us lose touch with our inner child and laughter. She’s our irreplaceable moon princess with the most adorable toes!