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> Remembering "nevada Nickels", "One Cool Cat!"
nickels
post Oct 30 2007, 03:38 PM
Post #1





Group: Pet Lovers
Posts: 232
Joined: 30-August 06
Member No.: 2,024



It's been over a year and I've meant to do this a long time ago. It's gut wrenching to spend this much time thinking about Nickels. He was one of those very special "throwaways". A jewel that someone tossed to the animal shelter in Las Vegas.

I had gone to the L.V. shelter that afternoon with a friend that wanted to adopt a dog. It was heart breaking looking into all those sad sweet faces. I found myself in the "kitten room". There were about 50+ kittens. There were about 4 people around Nickels cage. He was making direct eye contact with everyone. Seemed to be saying, "Hey, let me out. They've got me in a cage and I don't belong in one!". I went home and couldn't get him out of my mind. I went back the next day and put my name on the list for his adoption. I was third on the list and figured I wouldn't have a chance. Well the rest is history. The minute he was available (2:09 p.m.) I was the only one that showed up. I paid for his adoption fees with the money I had won off of a nickel machine...hence his name, Nevada Nickels.

From the beginning he was my car riding kitty. We went back and forth to Oklahoma and various other destinations. He was always popular with humans and other animals. I never let him outside since he would jump in the car with anyone. Well, one evening he snuck out while we were barbequeing. I was up till about 2:00 a.m. searching. I finally broke down in tears. I had left the sliding glass door cracked and just about when I had given up, I heard a noise. I turned and saw him sticking his head in the door intently staring at me with those big blue eyes. I was so happy and told him to get in the house. He hesitated, looked behind him and came in. Not only did he come in but, another cat entered as well...then another one behind that one. He had met a couple of buddies and must have really chatted up how great his place was. It took me a while to get his "new friends" to leave but all ended well.

When he was about 2 months old I came home from work. We did our ritual "kiss" from his tall cat post then up I went to change out of my work clothes. Peeled my nylons off, put jeans on, and went downstairs to watch some T.V. All of a sudden Nickels came tearing down the stairs with the waist band of my hose in his mouth and the rest of them stradling in between his legs. He got to the bottom of the stairs, stopped like a deer in the headlights with a shocked stare on his face looking right at me. Turned as fast as he had come down, and disappeared back upstairs with the nylons still in his mouth and left them right where he had found them.

One odd note. After I named him I was snacking on a jar of sweet pickles. He jumped up in my lap and attacked the jar. He had to have a pickle. This was only a temporary phase but I thought it was funny. His nickname stuck and he was forever known after that as "Pickles-Nickels". That turned into my ebay name and has been good luck to this day with 100% positive.

The only toy he would ever play with was a rabbits foot keychain. You could jingle the chain at 50 feet away and he would go nuts looking for it. He loved to fetch and would walk back to you with the stride of a lion then drop it at your feet for another toss. He never tired of that up till the end. I still have a bunch of those in a drawer and can't bear to look at them to this day.

Another favorite passtime was spinning in our office chair. I slowly spun it when he was younger. He got to where he would jump in the chair and tap you until you spun the chair. He was relentless. He'd hunker down grabbing the sides with his claws. You couldn't spin the chair fast enough. Then I'd stop it suddenly and his head and eyes would dart back and forth. When the dizziness subsided he'd start all over with tapping you. I finally stopped this when he was about 10 thinking this couldn't be good for him entereing his elderly years.

My Son brought a stray kitten home shortly after his father passed away. I didn't have the heart to say no so we kept her and named her Miss Patch. She was black with one white patch on her belly. Flipped me out the first time she got into something. Nickels started yelling "Mama, Mama, Mama". He would always tell on her.

Another time I was in the kitchen making coffee. I spilled about 1/4 cup of fresh grounds on the floor and went to for the broom. When I returned he had scooped them all into a neat pile. I have the picture of him sweeping them up. If I find it I'll post it.

He loved listening to the portable Walkman. His favorite tapes were John Denver and Jimmy Buffett. He would also howl in the car until you popped one of his favorite tapes in.

I took him for one of his routine vet visits with Dr. Trish in Henderson NV right outside Las Vegas. She's a sweet little blonde that just loves working with cats. On this particular occasion she had come down with the flu. She was examining him when he looked directly up into her eyes, looked back down and licked her hand, and then back up making direct eye contact. She burst into tears and said "He knows I don't feel good!" He always knew the routine and would walk onto her baby scale, hunker down, and be very still to be weighed. She said out of all her patients he was the most amazing.

Over the years I have had knocks at my door from people who had met him. They have brought their families and friends over to be introduced. It was not uncommon for me to yell out, "Nickels, you have visitors!"

Well, there are so many stories. My Husband has been after me to write them down so we never forget. My heart is aching right now and I thank God he sent little Frankee to us. There are just too many coincidences that Frankee was an "accidental find".

Here is one of his last pictures. The sun is intense in Nevada and if he went out he would wear a pair of my sunglasses. This was taken 3 weeks before he was put to sleep. It's one of my favorites, taken in his "spinning chair".

"One Cool Cat!" wink.gif
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--------------------
Nickels a.k.a Pickels
7-6-94 to 8-28-06
I have loved you forever!

Nickels story
http://lightning-strike.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=4242
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Posts in this topic
- nickels   Remembering "nevada Nickels"   Oct 30 2007, 03:38 PM
- - Moose Mom   Your Nickels was so special. It's so hard to ...   Oct 31 2007, 07:39 AM
- - nickels   Hi Lori, There's something about those car rid...   Oct 31 2007, 04:01 PM
- - Moose Mom   Michelle Wow all my kitties have been afraid of t...   Nov 1 2007, 07:31 AM
- - katzen11   so the sun is so intense in Nevada Nickels had ...   Nov 4 2007, 03:11 PM
- - eddies mom   Nickels/Michelle: what an awesome picture. don...   Nov 4 2007, 04:45 PM
- - nickels   It's been two years since we lost you Nickels....   Aug 28 2008, 02:16 PM
- - AngelCareOne   Dearest Nickles Mom, there's so much I want to...   Aug 29 2008, 08:56 PM
- - LoveThem   Your 2 year anniversary on the 28th......seems lik...   Sep 2 2008, 05:41 PM
- - AngelCareOne   In Loving Memory and Tribute to Nickels   Sep 9 2008, 09:44 PM
|- - openhearted87   QUOTE (AngelCareOne @ Sep 9 2008, 09:44 P...   Sep 12 2008, 09:55 PM
- - nickels   Dottie!! You are tooo precious!! ...   Sep 10 2008, 01:48 AM
- - AngelCareOne   Yo! Yo! Yo! What can I say, Michelle? ...   Sep 10 2008, 02:17 AM
- - Ken Albin   Dear Nickel's mom, What a sweet story! Yo...   Sep 12 2008, 05:10 PM
- - AngelCareOne   Hi, Corina and your Angels! So glad it made yo...   Oct 23 2008, 06:18 AM
- - AngelCareOne   Ooohhh, Michelle. I see I may be able slightly enl...   Oct 23 2008, 06:25 AM
- - nickels   I've added Nickels to the Findagrave.com memor...   Nov 7 2008, 05:23 PM
- - nickels   Oops! Here's the link: http://www.findag...   Nov 7 2008, 05:24 PM
- - AngelCareOne   Oh My Gosh! You put that captioned, framed pho...   Nov 7 2008, 11:31 PM
- - AngelCareOne   PS. Doh on me. I didn't give you the enlargeme...   Nov 7 2008, 11:53 PM
- - nickels   Dottie, I'm going to change Nickels photo out...   Nov 8 2008, 12:26 AM
- - AngelCareOne   Hi Michelle! I registered and am a member ther...   Nov 8 2008, 02:37 PM


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