Leona (a.k.a. lil kitty)

by Lisa M. Grego
(Walnut Creek, CA)

She was no more than the size of a nectarine, when I first held my beautiful grey Himalayan kitten.

At the time I had adopted her from a breeder, I had also adopted a 2 year old white blue eyed Persian Lion named Mufasa. I had to get Mufasa a friend, and this lil kitty was it.

It took a while to find just the right name for lil kitty. One night, I had a friend over, and he had suggested "Leona," which in Spanish means "female lion."

Awesome... already had the Persian named "Mufasa," which is the Lion's name in the hit movie "The Lion King," and so Leona was it!

I had a male lion and a female lioness. The names were perfect!! Mufasa and Leona were my new best friends til the end.

Heartbreaking it was when my blue-eyed Persian passed a few years ago, leaving Leona and I to grieve for months. I found it very comforting to still have one of my babies left, and she's been my rock through and through.

I just recently had to put my beautiful baby girl to sleep, due to old age, and she died peacefully in my arms, after being put into a deep sleep.

Cried many rivers since that weekend, and find it very hard to go on without my 2 best friends in the whole wide world. They both loved to ride in the car with me, and the adventures we took will live on in memory.

They were the best kitties in the world. Taught them how to play soccer, and they loved to be covered in catnip. I will miss them til the day I die, and I hope and pray we will once again be reunited at Rainbow Bridge.