Just before Chistmas, 2011, my son Paul brought me over a little stray kitten that was running loose in his neighborhood. She was totally black,extremely friendly and VERY loveable. I decided right then and there that I would keep her and she won me over completely that day.My son and my grandsons gave her the name "Blackie" at first as we did not yet know the gender. When we found out she was a girl, I quickly named her "Maxine" in remembrance of my beloved male cat Max I had lost 3 years earlier.One night, quite soon after I had gotten her, she slipped out and was gone for a couole of days. I thought I had lost her for good. But she showed up at the back door hungry and tired. I made an appt and brought her to the vet for her required shots. He looked at me and immediately said, "I can't give her any shots right now, this cat is pregnant!" So back home we went. She gave birth to 4 adorable kittens on March 13, 2012- I found good homes for 2 and we kept 2 of them, which I still have. She was an excellent mother and nursed them until they could be on their own.Through the years, Maxine was a ray of light for us- throwing her toy mice up in the air, catching them, chasing the laser light, darting from room to room at all hours of the night, and hiding my socks all over the house. The 10 brief years we had her went by much too quickly. Then,out of the blue,I noticed she was starting to breathe heavily and this scared me. She slept more often and was not eating or drinkng. We took her to the vet and were told it was her heart that had given out- She was given a sedative and put to sleep- my heart is still broken- my world is dark without her sunshine and frolicking ways and affection- Her head bumping when she wanted to wake me up in the morning-- I have her precious ashes with me now, in a little box I decorated with jewels, a red heart and a pink bow- I will keep them with me forever- I miss her so much,her brief life touched me deeply- RIP my beautiful angel girl= You took a piece of my heart with you when you left so soon and so unexpectantly.