The loud cat

Melissa Kristene Emerson 3/28/1982 - 11/6/2002

Missy playing with a toy mousie that her Gammy gave her for Christmas


Missy sleeping (being not-loud)


Au secours! Au secours! Il y a un chat lunatique!


Artsy shot of a pretty kitty and lots of interesting textures.

Melissa Kristene Emerson was obtained at a now-defunct pet shop in Kirksville, Missouri in the summer of 1982. She was picked out of a litter of Siamese kittens by virtue of being the healthiest, and one of her littermates picked me out as well, so I took the two of them home.

Missy demonstrated an unusual aptitude for fetching as a kitten; she would fetch her catnip toys and wait for them to be thrown. Unlike the dogs I've had through the years, Missy would drop the object into your hand. Her favorite toy to fetch was the plastic ring that comes from the top of a milk jug.

Missy went through a lot of moves with me, and it's all the more remarkable for the fact that she most emphatically did NOT like to ride in a car. She changed from expressing that opinion with her voice to expressing it with her bladder some time in her second decade of life; needless to say, we started using the cat carrier for her whenever she had to be hauled in the car. She lived with me in Kirksville, Hermann and Columbia; Columbia in the following locations: Skye Wynd #1, Bellview Acres, West Ash #1, West Ash #2, back to Skye Wynd #1, Hillview Acres, Skye Wynd #2, Chambray Court, Limoges Drive, and (finally) Doe Brook Lane.

Missy's nickname "the loud cat" came from her tendency to voice her opinion loudly when things weren't going her way, and that certainly came into play when she was at the vet's office, in the car, or when she thought it was time to eat. She let us know when it was time to open a can of Nine Lives (beef slices in gravy, thank you very much), and she also let us know when it was time to put those unused egg yolks in a bowl on the floor where she could reach them.

Since her sister died in January of 2001, Missy had taken over the position of nighttime cuddle cat. She jumped onto the bed and waited for me to get into position (on back, left arm slightly away from the body), then she would lie next to my left side and put her front paws or her chin on my left shoulder. She started losing weight in the latter part of 2002, but she seemed to be enjoying life up until election day 2002. That was the day that she stopped eating. By the evening, she was so weak she couldn't stand up. By the next morning, she was so weak she couldn't lift her head. We had made an appointment with the vet to evaluate her status, but by any criteria, her quality of life had deteriorated to the point that we knew we wouldn't be taking her home from the vet.

Such a beautiful cat she was. Such a loved cat she was. Good-bye, Missy. We'll miss you always.

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