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It's difficult to point out exactly which way an animal touches your life. Sometimes the animal is extraordinary and saves a human life. But more often than not, the way an animal changes your life is in a small way. That's how Fluffy changed our lives.

He was a small lilac cat with a white bib and feet. We fell in love with him at first sight. He was different. His eyes looked deep inside you. He made us see things differently. He made us see things as they were, on the inside. He could feel what you felt. He was a friend more than a cat. He was Fluffy.

We first saw him on a Tuesday afternoon in August, on the television to be exact. He was featured as the pet of the week on a local television station. Mild mannered with purring clearly heard from the host's microphone, "Slinky", as he was then called, drew my sister to him. Quickly I called Daddy up, "Please go get Slinky,'" my sister begged through the phone. Putting down the fork in his hand, our father agreed to go look at the cat.

I tried to keep her hopes low, because I knew something could still come up. Someone may have beaten us to adopt him. Maybe he had a medical condition. Or quite possibly, he would need to be indoors, something impossible for our family. She nodded her head solemnly, but deep in her heart, she knew he was hers.

Not long later, we got the phone call. "Slinky" was coming home with our Dad!

I still remember the first time I saw him. So skinny and light, the cat seemed almost fragile. Then you looked in his eyes, those eyes clear and strong, and you knew he was a fighter. He seemed quite at home in our spacious barn, happy to chase the mice and birds, eagerly showing us his catches.

Unlike most cats, Fluffy, as he was renamed, he willed himself to be held and petted by my cat loving sister. He put up no complaints, even when we exposed him to the strangest of conditions. From riding my horse, to playing our piano, Fluffy took it all in stride.

Next June, Fluffy was shown in our county 4-H fair where he won Reserve champion. At the State Fair in August, he won Reserve champion only losing to the Best of Show cat.

By now he had filled out and was a "father figure" to my new kitten. He showed her the ropes, like Mice 101 by bring her baby mice. Like all cats, Fluffy wasn't thrilled with the new kitten at first. He put up a fuss in front of us, but as soon as we left, he resumed his fatherly duties. My cat grew, and we adopted another kitten. Tessie was now free to be out with Fluffy, and they

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