She entered our lives on August 4th 2002. After we lost Skye we spent some time mourning her. Then, being with out a cat in my life I needed to have a feline presence. Took us a while to find the right one. And to convince my in-laws to let me get one as we where still living with them. Myst was gotten from a Petsmart shelter day. TIny little thing. Just a few months old. Her birth month was known but not the exact date. So, already having a st. Patrick's kitty we placed her birthday on the Ides.

I don't remember now how she came to the name Mystique, other then I was overruled on calling her Jellical. We got her a collar with a bell on it and that had a leopard print pattern. She managed to keep this her whole life and never lost it. Tiny as she was, I guess that made it easy to worm her way into our hearts.

When we at last got our own place, we did go down to my folks and brought one of my older cats back with us, Rumpelteazer. My other one Lady Jane does not travel well so we left her with my parents. Myst and Rumple hit it off and became buddies.

Myst claimed me like no other cat has ever claimed me. Not even Muffin. I was hers and it was known. You could just TELL how much she loved me. There was no doubt about it. She'd sleep curled up against me like a small child in bed. Every night for 8 years except when I wasn't at home.

She kept me company when sick, talked to my mom on the phone. Really! It got so my Mom knew her meow. Always by my side just about. I'd wager she spent 90% of her time with me when I was in the house.

When we took in our neighbors pregnant abandon cat she dealt with that. We ended up keeping two of the kittens, Tips and Splotch. And Myst and Splotch, well they where best friends. Always snuggling with one another, grooming each other. You could tell they loved each other.

As time went on she got, well large, not FAT, if you poked her side that was not fat that was solid muscle, she was just BIG, and heavy. But loving and sweet. Our housemate Thad called her Puppy at times as she was extremely dog like in personality. Up to playing fetch, but only when she was in the mood for it.

In December of 2009 we noticed her not spending so much time with me. This was HIGHLY unusual. She was just, flopped, on top of a heater vent, or in the bathtub. Very listless and just not herself. We thought she just had a kitty cold. 

We took her to the vets and they did blood work. We got told she had a Red Blood Cell Parasite called Haemobartonella. We where given medicine for her and told she should be ok in a few days.

IT didn't help, she stopped eating, and drinking. We took her back again and got told she might need a transfusion. But they gave us another medicine that might work and we wanted to try that first. As well as keep force feeding her liquid food and water.

I will NEVER forget the day she died. Bob was out of the house and it was me and Thad.  I had taken to keeping her on the bed with me as I slept and she'd get down to pee. She got down once and meowed funny. We knew of an emergency vet and in a panic I called Thad in the room to watch her while I looked up the number

Then she just..got worse. Thad called me back into the bedroom. HE tried kitty CPR and mouth to mouth. Nothing helped. I was hysterical, there is no other way to put it, hysterical. In tears and pleading with her to not leave me. To no avail.

She died in my arms. We called Bob to get him home. Longest wait in my life for him to arrive.

Once he got back we found a box, nothing fancy, and keeping her wrapped in the blanket I had made her while she was sick. Took her to his folks place and buried her in the bluffs near where Skye is buried.

I kept her collar. It's on my desk right now.

I still miss her, so much. She was my Baby girl. More child to me then pet.

I bet she'll beat all the other cats waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge in a mad dash to get to my arms. 

She was a cat like no other.