Cat: Kris (American Shorthair) – Bronx, NY

Cat: Kris (American Shorthair) – Bronx, NY (Dec 25, 1998 – Feb 2, 2016)

I met Kris one cold Christmas night in the Bronx, NY. He was a young beautiful orange boy fending for himself, and he meowed at me. Something about this boy made me want to do more than just give him food that Christmas night. I decided I wanted to give this stray kitty a home. He was only a few months old.

I lived in Springfield, Massachusetts at the time, so I drove him home with me. I didn’t think twice about it.

I named my boy Kris. A great name for a great cat. My Christmas cat. My first cat. Kris turned out to be one of the greatest Christmas gifts I ever gave myself. To think, I used to say I didn’t like cats. Kris made me an official cat lover and advocate.

In less than a year in Massachusetts, I adopted a second cat, Annie, a gorgeous Maine Coon with great green eyes. My Kris welcomed Annie right away and had a lifelong kitty crush on her.

Kris was a great friend. We lived so much together. We lived in Springfield, MA, then moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and finally to the Bronx, NY, our hometown.

He was always a playful boy. He loved to run, climb, hunt, and play with mice, fish, feather, and chirping bird toys. He loved looking at the birds from the window and feeling the sunshine. He loved to be petted and to play with balls. He was a lap cat and had the most loving yellow eyes. He enjoyed upbeat music. He especially loved it when we sang to him.

He was a tech kitty. He played games on the iPad and watched the images on the computer screen. He and Annie, my original pair of kitties, were the inspiration behind an independent pet media project called Kitty & Doggie News.

He was a great kitty model even though he was not a fan of the camera. But he put up with his photo loving humans and took many great photos that we will forever cherish.

We celebrated holidays together, especially Christmas, our very special day. Last Christmas, we celebrated Kris’ 17th birthday and Kris even wore a crown. After all, he is Kris the King. He loved it when I called him that.

Everybody loved Kris.

On February 2, Kris died at our Bronx home surrounded by family. The Regency Forest Pet Memorial Cemetery is handling his cremation, and his ashes will be returned to us. Kris lives in our hearts and memories forever.

Kris is survived by his two human moms, Milagros and Clarisel (a mother and daughter team), and his friends with paws: the cats, Sol and Blessing, and the dogs, Browny the border collie, and Shalom, the cockapoo.

Kris is free in kitty heaven. He is with his best buddy, Annie the Maine Coon (1999-2015), and Melody the cocker spaniel (1998-2006), his first doggie friend. I love you forever, Kris my Christmas cat. My angel.

— Mami Clary