Niko was born in my living room on an April morning in 1999. In February of that year, we had adopted two cats from a feral litter that had been born in our yard the previous spring. Unbeknownst to us when we took them in, they were both pregnant. Miss Garbo had her litter first, at the end of March. Arabelle had hers five days later. I walked downstairs one morning and she was in the corner by the rocking chair. Barney had already been born, and Niko was halfway out. Kerrigan would follow him.
At first we called Niko "Baby Belle" because he was solid black just like his mama. We later realized that he had some, um, parts that Arabelle didn't have, so we had to choose a boy's name for him. Matt named him Nicodemus. As a baby, Niko was round like a little bowling ball, and he pretty much stayed that way throughout his life. He had the sweetest, most open face of any cat I have ever seen, and he had the disposition to go with it.
When the kittens were about eight months old, we had to segregate the boys until we could get them neutered, for fear of having a hundred more kittens in the house. Since there were only three boys, we kept them shut up in the bedroom for a few weeks until we were able to take them to the vet to get snipped. They handled their jail term pretty well, and it helped that I spoiled them with lots of extra canned food and treats, but Niko still wanted out. He became quite the little Houdini, always finding new ways of escaping from the bedroom. We started calling him Nikodini.
He could be a mischievous little thing, but he was a sweetheart. He never fought with any of the other kitties until suddenly, at the age of nine or so, he decided out of the blue that he didn't like his cousin Oliver any more. I have no idea what Oliver did to him, as Ollie is also a sweet, sweet teddy bear of a boy. But suddenly one day, Niko couldn't stand Oliver. Any time Ollie would get within a few feet of him, Niko would start hissing and growling, and poor Ollie always looked confused.
Aside from his issue with Oliver, Niko loved to snuggle up for naps with the other kitties, and he loved to sit in my lap. I loved to watch him sleep because he would usually roll over on his back with his big, round belly in the air. One of his many nicknames was "Buddha Belly." He was always very tolerant of me when I'd sneak up on him to kiss his belly.
His fat little belly would swing from side to side when he ran, and it always cracked me up. He also had the sweetest little kitty snore when he was sleeping, and he usually snuggled up with me at night. His fur was very sleek, shiny, and soft, and I loved to pet him.
While most cats, of course, love treats like tuna and chicken, Niko had a bit of a quirky appetite. His favorite thing in the world was oatmeal. I could never eat a bowl of oatmeal without spending the entire meal fending him off with one hand while guarding my bowl with the other. I'd leave a little bit in the bottom of the bowl for him when I was done, and he would gobble it up like nobody's business. He had a similar affection for pudding and ice cream.
Niko always became very concerned whenever I sneezed. He would come running from wherever he was in the house when he heard me sneeze, crying all the way until he saw that I was all right. He also had a habit of getting caught up in empty shopping bags -- we called it his "kitty in the bag trick." He would stick his head through the handles of the bag and get it caught around his neck, then run like hell all through the house with the bag flapping behind him like a superhero cape. Eventually he'd collapse, exhausted, usually under the bed or in a corner and I'd approach him to remove the bag. He always seemed very embarrassed about the whole thing.
Even during the last year and a half or so of his life, when he was sick (though I didn't realize how sick he was), he remained a sweet, lovey boy. He became a little bit more reclusive, finding new hiding places to hole up in from time to time, but he still liked to sit with me, snuggle up with me at night, and hang out with me while I watched t.v. or used the computer.
I miss his sweet face and his gentle personality. He was a very, very special kitty.
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