This poem I wrote several years ago is about the first cat I ever owned. I had never been a cat person [we only had dogs when I was growing up] until one night when my teenaged daughter came home & heard a cat crying under the hood of my car. She rescued what turned out to be a very sick tiny kitten and kept it in her room that night. The next day when I found out about the kitten I could not turn her out to die so we took her in and cared for her. I didn't think she was going to make it through and live but she did. She was so tiny she slept in my shoe. The plan was to get her well and find her a home but that never happened, she won our hearts and was with us for 18 years when she crossed Rainbow bridge. My daughter gave her the name Trouble because she thought she was going to be in trouble for bring a cat in the house. Now I am totally a cat person and that is because of that beautiful black and white tuxedo kitten. I wrote this poem after she crossed Rainbow Bridge. My Old Cat My old cat has gone away, To where the angel cats run and play. She was my companion for eighteen years, When she had to go I shed many tears. In need of a home when she came, We called her Trouble when giving a name. Years passed, she became a family member, Another year was added each September. I will never forget that autumn day, When we found that mistreated stray. She was so tiny, could sleep in my shoe. We gave her loving care, so she grew. She gave her love while in us she did trust. With our nurturing she became more robust. She thought other people was a real danger, Knowing we’d protect her from all strangers. I had never before known such total devotion, With so much gratitude and loving emotion. This was our precious gift from my old cat. Now she is gone I shall forever remember that. Copyright @ M. Doris Fuller In memory of our beloved Trouble.