Fruitbat the Cat

Fruitbat2
Originally uploaded by Ravenmn.

Friday cat blogging is a creation of Kevin Drum and something I begin today.

This lovely creature is my heartcat, Fruitbat. She lived to a grand old age of 21.5. She would have been eligible to vote in the presidential election if she'd made it to November, but she passed on October 4.

Fruitbat adopted me as a kitten. She was always and shall ever be Ms. AlphaCat. Here's some background on The Lady I wrote up on the day she died:

Fruitbat came to live with me when I shared an old farm house in Northeast Minneapolis that had the Mississippi River in the back yard. My roommates, Ginny and Stephen had two cats: Tom Kitty, a black and gray short-hair who was the butchest cat I've ever known, and Muskiebait, a sleek black mouser. Fruitbat was a tiny little Russian Blue kitten.

In those days, I was working graveyard shift. Every day I'd wake up around 5 p.m., go downstairs and find Fruitbat. She'd curl up on my lap and allow me to pet her constantly while I had my coffee and tried to wake up.

My best friend at the time had a 10-year-old son named Jeff. When Jeff saw this kitten with her huge ears and tiny, pointed nose, he said, "She looks like a Fruitbat!" The name stuck.

When the house we were renting got sold, Ginny and Stephen bought a house and Ravenhub (not yet married) and I moved into an apartment. Muskiebait had disappeared and had been replaced by Squeak. Squeak and Tom Kitty were supposed to stay with Ginny and Stephen while Fruitbat moved to the apartment with us.

However, Tom Kitty decided the new house was his property and No One Else's. He would not let Squeak near the new house: he literally chased Squeak away whenever he came near the yard. So Squeak ended up coming to live with me and my crew. Even though he was twice the size of Fruitbat, he learned to fear her awesomeness. Her rule was never challenged!