Friends on Friday: Honoring IKKYU

Ms. C: Last summer, I had the very great honor of meeting IKKYU, the beautiful Abyssinian of noble attitude and dignity; he owned my friend Ms. V who writes for Sen-Chan and Tom of The Poupounette. Today my thoughts are of him and with my friend, for a year ago today he passed over the rainbow bridge.

IKKYU had not been feeling well for some time, but being the lovely caring person that she is, his #1 Ms. V provided him with all he needed to be able to enjoy his last months. The day I first got to meet him, he was having a really good day. I'd been hearing all about IKKYU for years, and to finally have a chance to see him in person was really exciting! When I went home, I began a sketch which evolved into my first watercolor painting in several years, I think it really captures his spirit:

I warn you other kitties out there, some of the following pictures are probably going to make you drool!

One thing about IKKYU was that he was pretty much a one-person cat. There was no short-cut to winning his affection, he simply had to decide for himself how he felt about a person, and no amount of savory treats could really change his mind (although they would certainly be accepted). He let me scratch between his ears while he was enjoying the cheese I'd offered to him, and did not hiss. When I suggested to Ms. V that perhaps he did not hiss because his mouth was full of cheese, she laughed and said, "Oh, believe me, he'd hiss if he wanted to!" So it seems I was more acceptable than most! Here he is acquiring a piece of cheese:

He was WILD about ham! Ham, glorious ham! As you can see, he was very happy to accept a piece from me:

What a beautiful cat! He was an excellent model for me on the days that I saw him.

He allowed me to get very, very close to him, which was unusual for him.


You can learn more about IKKYU and what a super kitty he always was (and see more fun pictures!) over at The Poupounette today. I am so glad I was able to meet him before he took his final journey. I am sure somewhere he is waiting for the rest of us with a world of ham and cheese! We miss you, IKKYU.