Cats I, Besame and Amore

The "B" girls are Besame and Bella. Besame is older by a couple of years, so I'll let seniority rule.

M. J.--my other sister--was given Besame and her sister, Amore, as peace offerings from her former husband. "The girls" were calicoes with nearly identical markings, though very different in size and build: Amore was tiny, even by cat standards, while Besame is long and "rangy." Unless they were side by side, the only way to figure out which was which was which was that Amore had a black patch over her left eye and Besame over her right.

And, yes, their names are Italian: "Ah MORE ay" and "BEH some ay"--"Love" and "Kisses." Dad thought "Smith" and "Wesson" were more suitable, certainly for Amore; she was the "alpha" in more than just her name. Besame hid from friends and strangers alike; Amore greeted people at the door, demanding pets which were answered with bone-rattling purrs. If, as kittens, they got into mischief, Amore was the instigator. Amore leapt or climbed on everything; Besame preferred to keep all four feet on the ground. When they arrived at Mother's, Amore joined everyone the breakfast table (not ON the table--all cats in this house know that's a "no fly zone"--but in an empty chair) to chat about the news of the day.

Soon after "the girls" arrived here, the vet discovered a cancerous tumor inside Amore's sinuses. The cancer was extremely aggressive and the vet said, "If she were mine, I wouldn't subject her to any invasive surgery. Make her comfortable and she'll tell you when she's had enough." Amore spent the next three months curled up next to Mother, rarely moving except to use the litter box or to find a warmer spot in the sun. We even fed her on a pillow on the bed as leaning over her dish became more difficult. When she stopped eating and drinking, we knew it was time to let her go, and we did so. When the vet gave her the injection, she put her head down, gave a little sigh and just went to sleep.

We should all have so peaceful an end.