I remember when I was a little baby. I particularly remember my Mama's soft fur and tummy and my three little brothers and sisters. Once our eyes were open and we could see, we had the best time romping and playing. Mama took real good care of us until we could eat food and drink water from bowls.

One day some people came to visit. They went crazy over us kittens, me especially. I was feeling kind of proud of myself for being considered the cutest until one of them picked me up and put me in a cage. I was so confused and scared, I cried out for Mama, but all she could do was watch as they carried me away.

Once I got to my new home, I got used to it pretty fast. I lived with a man and a woman. The man didn't care for me all that much, but the woman let me sit on her lap and she even let me lay in bed with her at night after the man went to sleep. Everyone who came to visit doted on me and oohed and ahhed. I got lots of pets and treats from them. They would say, "Oh, what a cute little Persian kitten." They gave me chin scratches and I really loved those.

But the bigger I got, the less attention I got. The woman still loved me, but the man didn't seem to care about me much at all. He just ignored me most of the time.

Then, one day I got really sick. The woman asked the man for some money to take me to the vet. He said no. By the next day I was even sicker and the woman put me into a cage and took me to this really scary place. She set my cage up on the counter, filled out some papers and gave me one last scratch under my chin. She had tears running down her cheeks. And then she left.

The people at the animal shelter were kind to me, but all I wanted to do was go back home. I felt so sick and lost and alone. What did I do that was so bad that I couldn't go home anymore? I laid my head down on my paws and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning I wasn't feeling any better. I heard the door open and there was a nice looking young woman peering into my cage. She reached inside and picked me up. She held me close to her; it felt so nice. She took me home with her and nursed me back to health. She was my foster mom. I wanted to stay with my foster mom forever, but there were lots of other cats at her house and my stay was only temporary until she could find me what was supposed to be my forever home.

I knew I had to flirt with potential adopters to get their attention. After all, I had competition and I was already almost a year old. So when people came to inspect us cats, I was always the first to greet them and would wind myself around their legs and purr as loud as I could.

My efforts paid off and pretty soon I was living in yet another house with another couple. This time it was different, though. The man and the woman both loved me, they loved me a lot! They brushed me and bathed me and let me sleep with them and petted me all the time and gave me all kinds of wonderful treats.

I lived there for about 10 years and then the woman passed away. I missed her so. The man missed her, too. We spent the long, cold winter nights cuddled up in his easy chair; we became very close. And as the years went by, the pain of losing the woman lessened and we had our own routine.

Then one day, the man didn't come home. Where was he? He was always home by six o'clock and we'd have our dinner, and then cuddle up in the chair together for the evening. I waited and waited, but he didn't come home.

Two days later I heard the door open and I rushed toward it expecting to see the man. But it wasn't him, it was his daughter and she was crying. She gave me some food and water. Then she brought in some boxes and started packing up the house. I was frantic. Where was my friend? Of course, she couldn't tell me and I didn't know how to ask.

After several days of coming and going in the house, she had packed up everything and moved it out, including our cuddle chair. I spent the last night in my house of thirteen years curled up on the cold, hard floor. I was now almost fourteen years old.

The next day, the daughter came with a cage and put me inside. I thought she might take me home with her to live, but she took me to the shelter.

Who will want me now? Will you?

Submitted by Linda Williams, a senior cat lover. Linda states, "I have two senior Persians who were caged by a breeder all their lives, a father and daughter. One is 15 years old and the other is 13 plus years old. They were caged in a garage for 14 and 12 years respectively. I love them with all my heart and can't begin to describe the joy these animals have brought me. My only regret is that I did not get them sooner."