One bright sunny day, i decided to stop by and visit my dad, my hubby and i had just bought our first home, so a visit was in order. When dad walked out to greet me he asked me a question,"want to see what i have", with curiosity, i replied sure. He came back with something in his hands, a very small kitten. He could hold it in one hand it was so small, i asked him"where did you get that", he replied" a stray cat had a litter of kittens, and she had abandoned this kitten, so he was feeding him by hand to keep him alive. It was one of the smallest kittens i had ever seen. When i was getting ready to leave he asked me if i wanted the kitten, being a dog love i thought about it , but decided sure. He was so small, i couldn't resist. On the way home i tried to rub his tummy, but he got very squirmy, it reminded me of the xmas toy that was so indemand, tickle me Elmo. so i named him elmo. Elmo was a suprise to my family, with the question...why? i simply replied we have a new home, and he had no home..so why not give him a home with us.the first year was a fun time with elmo, as he had a very distinct personality.He even had his own sock and presents at christmas. But he was still very small. At full growth, elmo was half the size of a grown cat, and he had a sinus problem , but that never stopped him. As he had the heart of a lion.The next summer we had a delima, what to do with elmo when we went camping? well to everyones suprise i said lets take him with us, so elmo went camping, we brought his leash, Yes he was leash trained, and his portable home...a cat carrying case. He loved going out for walks at the camp ground, but the camp hosts thought we were crazy. We had our dog, beau a 125 lb. german shepard, and our cat elmo, 5 lbs. it was quite a seen. but we loved him so why not.when we got home our friends were laughing to see we had taken him with us. But elmo enjoyed it so what was the harm, then we went to the beach, of course so did Elmo. I never went on a trip without him. Our hotel took pets, but they never expected a cat. We explain the he was leash trained and was very good about scratching on the door to go potty, he was a 1 in a million kitty. The hotel staff laughed each time we took him down the elevator to go potty. But we proudly smiled, and if elmo could smile ..so did he. He was the best pet i had ever had. He slept with my youngest son at night, on his own pillow on his bed..right next to my son's head..it was so cute. On stormy nights he curled up in front of the fire place, keeping warm. It was a picture made in heaven. Elmo turned 2 on may 25, 2001. he was now a big 2 yrs old, it was in credible, when ever i cried he was right in my lap licking away my tears, and then nussled next to my neck. He was my baby, my friend, i had never loved a cat like this, not any animal. he was so precious to me, i would have gladly cut off my right arm for him. He could look at me and it was like i understood what he was saying. we were closer than ever. we woke up on the morning on september 1, 2001 , and as usuall so did elmo, he went out to go potty. He came back in abought 1 hour, ate as usuall and then just lazed around. He was sleeping on the kitchen floor as it was a hot day and the floor was cool. he walked into the front room and vomited blood was in it , and i paniced. I gathered my son and he carried elmo in a blanket, by this time..only about 20 minutes after he vomited , he couldn't walk. He looked at me , with his eyes and i knew, it was serious. We were just blocks from the vet when my son started screaming ""ELMO"" god how i raced to get there, but he died in my sons arms , just as we pulled in the parking lot of the vet.I was crying so hard i could hardly see, he was my best friend , he was so young and healthy, what happened. We ran in to the vetall crying our kitty he is dead. they took him in the back, but sadly he was gone. We found out the next day he had been poisoned. Then we asked the neighbors, and 1 neighbor told us that the people across the street were poisoning racoons ...with cat food. Cat food mixed with poison. I never cried so hard in my life, how could they be so stupid , so cruel. To poison a living creature. I hope they rott in hell for all the animals they have killed , especially our ELMO. I will never be able to hold him, he was so soft, and no more fun trips together, or seeing the joy on my sons face when he wakes up in the morning with a big kiss from elmo, i have only my memories.Ther is so much more that i could write about him, he was so different, but they are my memories.....Dear Elmo, when it is my time to go, i hope above everything else, that you are their waiting for me, to help me cross over. I couldn't do it with out you. Love mom