It was a Saturday and I had tons of errands to run with my children in tow. We pulled into the parking lot at the shopping center and for just a brief second I saw a tiny, gray kitten run under a car that was parked in the lot. The kids and I ran over to investigate. We looked under the 3 cars that were parked there and found nothing. We looked in the bushes nearby; nothing. We looked around the lot and up by the stores; nothing. I said, "Where could it have gone? I hope it didn't crawl up inside one of these cars." We couldn't find it, so we started running our errands. We all got our hair cut and while we waited, I watched the cars and the lot; still nothing, an hour or more passed by. We went to the card shop and when we came out, one car had left. We went to the toy store and the kids played for about an hour in there, when we came out another car had left; no kitten spotted anywhere. We looked under the remaining car and listened; nothing.

We then went to the grocery store, shopped for about an hour and when all the groceries were loaded, I got into the driver's seat, started our car and was ready to leave, but just couldn't because I didn't know what happened to the little kitten. As I sat there with the car running, staring at the last place I had seen the gray blur, a woman finally approached the car. I ran over to her and told her I had seen a kitten run under her car several hours earlier and I just couldn't leave knowing it could be in her engine compartment. I asked her if she would open the hood and let me look, just so I could leave knowing I had done all I could to find it. When she opened the hood, there was the kitten! He was on top of the engine and frantically trying to dive down into it. I grabbed him, thanked her profusely, and ran to my car with the squirming, terrified cat. I shoved it through my slightly open car window, it dived under the passenger seat and I excitedly got into the car and we finally drove home!

When we got there, I had to break the news to my husband that I had rescued another cat. He pulled the kitten out from under the seat, turned it over and said, "well, it's a boy." Then, we got a chance to really look at it for the first time. I said, "my gosh, he's got the longest whiskers I have ever seen." And, that is how he got his name.

We had our cat Shamu and two dogs, Jack and Jill, all abandoned rescued animals. We isolated Whiskers in a cage in the basement where the dogs slept each night, until he could be tested for feline leukemia. During the time he stayed with the dogs, he learned not to fear them. In fact, he loved and trusted them completely. He fit in well with our family of two kids, two dogs and two cats. His nickname was Lil Wee. Sometimes, he would sleep with one of the kids, his nose under their nose, feeling their breath on him. It must have been a comforting reassurance to him that he was safe and loved.

Some funny stories about him: If you were on the couch watching TV and he decided to hop up at the other end to sleep and you moved while he was sleeping, he would whine and complain about it. Maybe you weren't even wiggling the couch, maybe you were just talking too loud! Sometimes, he would hiss and then make a big deal about being interrupted while sleeping and then leave in a huff.

He loved having humans as his personal servants. He would meow at the door to be let out. His meow sounded like he was saying, "NOW!" As soon as the door was opened, he would either hesitate forever or turn away and decide he didn't want out. We sat down and the cycle would continue. We would have to take our foot and push him out. After he was outside, he acted like something was going to grab him on the porch and he would jump after seeing the broom, the chair, and whatever else had been sitting there since the beginning of time.

During our dinner time, he would scratch and tear up the weather stripping around the door wanting back in as soon as he was let out. We would let him back in, he would go and eat 5 nuggets of dry food and then want right back out again. This cycle would continue everyday. We even sat his food bowl outside, but it didn't stop the insanity of "NOW - hesitate - push out - scratch to come in..." Even though he only ate 5 nuggets at a time, he grew to be very large - around 15 pounds.

When he was laying, crouched down in the grass, he would look like one of the limestone rocks in this area. Occasionally, when he played with Shamu or another newly acquired kitten, Sunny, he would just heave his huge, blubbery body onto them and smother them on the floor! It was hilarious to watch his "victim" squirm to get away! His nickname at this stage in his life became, Big Fat Wee! We used to pretend like Shamu called him "PIG!" "What did you call me?" "Nothing - pig."

During the day, no matter what the weather was, he begged to go outside. He spent most of his days out and always came in around 9:00 p.m. to sleep at the end of the couch. When we went to bed, he would join us and always slept on the right side of the bed in his mommy's arms, purring, with his nose under her nose, so that he could feel the reassurance of her presence from her breath. I used to love those mornings when I'd wake up with Whiskers under my right arm, Shamu under my left arm, Sunny on my chest and Jill laying on the floor beside my bed. Just surrounded by love.

One horrible day, I came home from a doctor's appointment, I heard dogs barking. I remembered Whiskers was outside and ran to where I heard the barking. I screamed and Whiskers scrambled out of an old farm building, our neighbor's Airdale and a little poodle right behind him. I screamed again and the Airdale ran away. But, the damage had already been done.

Although I immediately rushed Whiskers to the vet, he had gone into shock from his injuries and never recovered.

Sunny died a horrible death in January and now our beloved Lil Wee was laid to rest beside him in November of the same year. Oh, how I miss my babies.