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One of the neighborhood cats had kittens under my dad's old car the summer I was 11. I have three sisters (aged 18, 16, and 11 at the time) and once the kittens were old enough, the four of us were out there a lot cuddling the three kittens that would come close. We'd named all of them, but mom put her foot down over and over again - no cats. Our dog was enough for one family.

KITTEN. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK / CELIAFOTO

One night when my mom was at a night class, Dad grabbed us kids and told us we could choose one kitten to keep. Well... four girls couldn't choose just one kitten, so we asked Dad to make the decision. Dad being Dad, he asked which kitten looked healthiest. That was a little gray and white kitten named Princess because she was so uppity, so we brought Princess home.

She stayed in my big sister's room while us girls went out to buy supplies. When we got home, Dad had already broken the news to Mom. My mom loves to tell that story: She came home from class, walked in the front door and there's Dad sitting at the kitchen table with a little smirk on his face. She took one look at his face and just said, "How many?" And he laughed and laughed.

PHOTO: KRISTA FROM CEDAR HILLS, IA

Princess lived about 15 years, long past us girls moving out and getting pets of our own. The picture is of both the family pets on Christmas 2005, two years before we lost PJ and nine years before we lost Princess. I still cry whenever I think about her. I look at my own rescue cat and think of Princess and how she'd crawl under the covers and curl up to cuddle. She never forgave my sisters for going off to college, she always loved Dad best, and she was a real snob, but I miss that cat so much some days.

Story submitted by Krista from Cedar Falls, Iowa.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!