Illai came into the world on April 13th, 1991 – feet first and giving his mama Sadie trouble. I fell in love with him while trying to gently pull his limp body from his poor mom who was completely exhausted from her effort. I thought he was gone when he finally came out, but he started breathing, squirming, and thriving. He made it.
I named him Illai, which is Urdu for nose, because the black on his nose (as a baby) caught my attention. He proceeded to grow, and continued to give his mama trouble – outweighing his mom, he refused to give up her milk. Sadie would continually kick his face away when he tried to suckle. I think he held a grudge about that for most of his life, because he really gave her a hard time about the litter box, passing each other in the hallway, etc.
And he continued to grow…at his heaviest, Illai was 18 pounds with an insatiable appetite. If the other kitties didn’t eat their food, he’d help himself to the rest. And believe me, I got more than one lecture from the vet about his weight. I must confess that I loved the way he looked…fat and happy!
One of my fondest memories of Illai was coming home to see his rotund body in the middle of a giant hole in the custom made blinds he just destroyed from climbing them. He exhibited no guilt or worry, and he didn’t move a muscle when I walked in to see him sitting in the middle of the mess. I could only laugh, and I couldn’t be mad at him because he was so adorable, and so care free.
Illai was a darling. He was social and inviting when we had guests. He had no problem sharing a bed with the dogs (just not his mama Sadie). He always came to the door to greet us when we came home. He had an attitude when it was appropriate, but for the most part, he was a mild mannered gentleman. And he was always happy – just purring away.
My husband used to say, “Illai’s so happy, I think he’s going to live forever”. He left this world on September 29th, 2009, but he will indeed live in our memories and hearts forever. Sleep well, big boy. We will always love you.
