Avery was born at the house down the street from us. My little sister Kara wanted a kitten of her own, and my mom had somehow seen the kittens and told us about them. We ran down to see them too, and I think she sort of regretted telling us as she wasn't actually planning on getting one. They were so darn cute though, that she fell in love with him too, and we worked on her until she gave in.

There was one kitten in the batch that looked just like Boo, the little black and white cat that I had wanted to keep who had died. I succeeded in talking Kara into this one, and so we had a kitten. Kara named him Avery. His brother went to our next door neighbor, and they named him Harvey. She was going to keep him in her room the first night, but got scared he wouldn't stay in his box, so I kept him in my room. He slept with me and I got very little sleep as I was scared of squishing him.

He grew up rapidly, and Kara loved him a lot. She played with him every day and did a lot of modeling with him for me. She often modeled for me as I needed willing subjects for my photography class, so I was delighted.

Avery stayed indoors until he got older and then he joined Whiskers and Sweetie in the pen at night. He idolized Whiskers and used to try and do everything he did. I'm not sure that it was appreciated attention, but Avery would never tire of it. He played with anyone he could and the older cats tolerated his antics with minimal tension. Harvey would occasionally come over the fence and they'd frolic together in the back yard.

He was a real sweetheart with people as well. He loved being with us no matter where we went, and he would look out for anyone who was feeling a little lonely. He seemed to have a sixth sense about that, and they would find themselves with a very purry kitty on their laps. It was hard to stay sad with him around. He was a real people cat and enjoyed company no matter who it seemed to be.

When Whiskers died, he lurked around the yard moping for a few days. When we would run into each other, he rubbed on me and sighed. We shared our grief together, and I am thankful that he seemed to miss and care for him like I did. He decided to take over Sweetie's care then, but she was less tolerant of him than before. She might've been grieving too, but he certainly got bopped around the ears a lot the next few weeks. Things eventually settled down though, and he looked out for her behind her back.

Avery always liked to give hugs to Kara, and all she had to do was pick him up, or bend down to him and he would put his paws around her neck and purr. They were always so cute together. The cats started coming in the house until bedtime when they'd go in the garage to sleep, and Avery took the opportunity to help her do homework and anything else she needed to do. He loved sitting by the fire and cozying up to someone.

They were only allowed in the family room and there was a line on the floor where the linoleum from the hallway met the garage entryway flooring. We would tell him to stay behind that line, and he always did when we were in there with him. He never liked being alone, so during the times we were in the kitchen or elsewhere it proved a lot to ask of him. He would sit behind the line and stare at it. Then ever so innocently lay down and his front paws would creep onto and then over it. After laying for a few minutes he would roll onto his side and strectch out which usually carried him across the line completely. Then he would innocently sit up and look astonished that he found himself over the line. Sometimes he would content himself with sitting just on the other side of it where he could observe us in the kitchen. Other times he would wander slowly to find Kara wherever she was.

They were inseperable after I moved out and though I don't know whether or not he missed having Sweetie around, he never lost his love for people. He would purr for anyone, and let everyone hold him. He welcomed everyone to his house and tried to make them comfortable right away by rubbing their legs for them.