In my Honolulu office, I had many pictures on my wall and they had to be removed in preparing to consolidate our offices in Redmond, Washington by the end of the month. A large number of those special pictures are of my cat, my friend and one of the sweetest kitties ever…Punkee.
In January, after fifteen great and wonderful years, Punkee passed away.
I have had a kaboodle of cats and kittens in my life since I was a child. In 1994, when my daughter Brittany was 5 years old, we went in search of her first kitten. Little Punkee was a resident at the local animal shelter when we found him. After we sat down in the kitten petting room at the shelter, it didn’t take long to know Punkee would be coming home with us.
He was bright and affectionate, with a sweet disposition. He was quick to stand up and say, “I’m the one! Take me! Take me!”.
We named him Pumpkin but his cuteness had us calling him Punkee soon after. He quickly had us all trained as his humble servants. In return, he lit up the house with his playfulness and love. As he and Brittany grew up together, they were best friends. The hat photo here was from one of their many “let’s dress up Punkee” parties.
Everyone thinks their cat is special, but Punkee truly was a cat that everyone who met him commented in how super friendly and mellow he was. He loved to be pampered by family, friends and strangers alike.
I have hundreds of wonderful memories of Punkee. He loved the TV remote control, using it for his pillow while sleeping and he enjoyed the little “nubs” during the daily kitty massage he counted on receiving when his daddy got home from work.
Losing Punkee was a big change for my family and I. We take comfort in knowing the challenges of aging and poor health no longer cloud his days and in our hearts know change can make us feel glad and sad all at once. How fortunate we were to share fifteen wonderful years with a kitty of a lifetime!
