Celebrating Kerwin

One year ago today, we acquired our cat Kerwin. I was walking to my car to go to work, and I heard this desperate meowing. I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from at first. Finally, I looked up and saw this crazy-looking little black kitten stuck up in a tree. I could tell he hadn't had anything to drink in awhile, because he was panting. I stood under the tree and tried to coax him down a bit. He started to come down, but it was obvious he was going to fall if he tried to climb down on his own.

So I called Our Hero (Roy), who was still at home. He came out into the parking lot and started climbing on the stone wall that was right by the tree. Much to my shock, the stone wall literally crumbled and Our Hero fell on his back in the parking lot! Apparently it wasn't a hard fall, because he got right back up and climbed the wall, which made it easier for him to climb the tree. Our Hero quickly rescued the crazy black kitten, who didn't let go of the tree easily. He tried to hand the kitten down to me, but the kitten was pretty much clamped onto Our Hero's shoulder. Our Hero began climbing down the tree, and then the kitten just made a jump for it. I was scared at first, because it was a big jump for such a little guy. He just behind the stone wall that had crumbled, and I half expected him to run off, but he didn't. Instead, he let me pick him up. I held him against my chest and he immediately began purring. He was so friendly.

We put him on our patio with some food and water and figured that he could stay there for the day if he wanted to. He would have been able to climb the walls of the patio if he wanted to go on his way, but when I got home from work, he was still there. We pretended for the first day or so that we weren't going to keep him (we already had a cat). I put up an ad on Craigslist and asked around, but there were no takers. Slowly we assimilated him into our lives, which was great because honestly, we were attached from day one.

We named him Kerwin because it's Irish for "small and dark." Kerwin had a gigantic nose as a kitten, not to mention an extremely strange face and huge ears. He was (and continues to be) always hungry for attention, no doubt brought on by his time as a stray. He loves water and has a thing for hanging out in the bathroom, on my desk, on the dresser, or on my nightstand. He loves to lay on my stomach, and when he gets really excited and happy, he starts chewing on things, even human flesh. His nose, which he has since grown into, is as wet as a dog's. One morning he burrowed his way under the covers and stuck that freezing-ass nose of his in my bellybutton. Another time he jumped from the headboard onto my stomach, and another time he jumped from the headboard onto my face. He has gotten into the shower with me on more than one occasion. And he's not small anymore, he's quite a big cat. His teeth are so long that you can see them hanging out of his mouth. There are tufts of hair coming up between his toes. And he has a bald spot above each of his huge ass eyes.

Despite his many eccentricities and also because of them, I love Kerwin like he's my own child. He brings so much happiness into each of my days. I am so glad that I took the time to investigate the pathetic meowing I heard one year ago.

And now, a picture of the big boy: