For Christmas, Santa brought us a gentle red tabby kitten, Boo Boo. Then, on an unusually warm day for March in St. Louis, I spotted a beautiful Siamese kitten outside. A neighbor said the poor kitten was hanging around crying for 2 weeks and she felt so sorry she finally began feeding it. She wore a purple collar and was either lost or dumped in our neighborhood. She was gorgeous, bright blue eyes, light wheat color with seal points, 4-6 months old...the perfect playmate for our Christmas Kitten. We took the newcomer to the vet right away to be checked out. After several days of sniffing each other under the door getting acquainted, it was love at first sight for Boo Boo and Li Li. That was in 2003. but Li Li's fight for life wasn't over. In November '07 we almost lost her to a severe episode of lipidosis and diabetes. If the vet hadn't placed a feeding tube in her neck, she surly would have died. We saved her from starvation by tube feeding her for several months. The diabetes caused healing delays. Finally her hair grew back and she has doubled her weight, over 10 pounds. This is the second year of daily insulin injections but Li Li is doing fine. For a free kitten found outdoors in winter, she has become the bionic cat, now very slim but worth her weight in gold! The vet thinks she may be purebred Siamese. Her light wheat colored coat returned, replacing the dark shades her coat had grown into before she got so sick. She's a great cat and sweet Boo Boo is still in love!

Jan Hutchinson
St. Louis, MO