Molly

Molly as a baby
Molly and Toot, together from the start

Ryan loved to snuggle Molly

Molly loved to lay like this!

She was a beautiful cat

Toot is really going to miss her too

Chris wasn't a "cat person", until he met Molly

I am sad that Ryan will not remember her.

Thankfully we have these pictures.

I lost my first baby this morning. My sweet Molly cat passed away. She was the first pet that I ever owned on my own. I had many pets, family pets, growing up. Molly was my first pet that I picked out to live with me in my apartment back when I was a twenty year old college student. I rescued her, and my roommate at the time rescued her sister, Toot. Molly and Toot. What a pair! They were so tiny when we got them. Their mother had been killed and a sweet lady had been fostering them. I remember her telling me that "these two kittens love to play in the bath tub! Without water, but batting a ball around!" They were two tiny poofs of hair. And so sweet. When we got them home we realized just how tiny they were. They had been prematurely weaned. Little Toot, who was smaller, got very sick and had to spend a few nights at the vet. Molly was a little bigger and didn't get sick like Toot, but she was still high maintenance. She always wanted to be with me. I was her mommy. She would follow me around and cry outside my door if she couldn't get to me. At night she would snuggle up next to my neck and try to nurse from my ear lobes! I let her! She was such a tiny little baby and she still needed that comfort of sucking. (And I do have rather large ear lobes, perfect for nursing!) Needless to say, the first 6 weeks or so I didn't get great sleep. I had a newborn I was up at night "nursing"!

That bond that Molly and I formed has been strong for almost 11 years now. She, along with her best buddy Toot, who I adopted after UT graduation, have been with me through it all. We have lived in numerous apartments and houses, I have driven with them in carriers back and forth between DFW and Austin, we have lived alone and with multiple roommates. They always adapted (sometimes with the help of sedatives on the car rides) and they have always been my companions. Apartments, boyfriends, roommates, cities have all changed but Molly and Toot were my constant. I started a family and they were a part of it. These two cats never seemed like cats. People always commented how friendly they were and how they would come to their names. Molly was the most personable cat I have ever known. She loved people! And people loved Molly. All of the neighbors knew her, the mail man always stopped to pet her, people left water our for her so she could grab a drink when she came over to visit. The past three years Molly and Toot have enjoyed the benefits of being in a house where they can go outside. Chris even built them a cat door so they could go in and out of the garage as they please. For many years they were kept in apartments and I always knew they longed to be outside. So, even though it was a car that took Molly's life, I know that she had a good life and that she got to enjoy the outdoors like she always wanted to. She never ventured too far from me though. She usually stayed in our front yard but sometimes would go to the three neighbors porches or yards while we were at work. She would always run home when she saw me pull into the driveway. If I was around she wanted to be with me. Even two days ago when I had her inside hanging out and getting a break from the heat she would follow me around the house and find a spot to lay where she could touch me. She always let Ryan pet her and never once scratched or bit anyone. She really was the sweetest cat. I will miss her so much. We all will.