From out of the shadows...crept Miamoto, my daughter's first cat. Mia was a purely black tomcat we adopted as a 6 week old kitten, and this photo captured the handsome, sleek cat he became.
Mia loved to slink and creep around the house, but more than that, Mia loved my daughter. She was 2 years old when we adopted him, and at first I caught her lugging him around with his head through her little arm. I quickly taught her to carry him with his paws and upper body over her snug arm, and a bond was instantly formed between them.
My daughter could carry that cat for what seemed like hours, and he would simply hang there over her arm, content and secure. She never dropped him, never hurt him, once she realized how delicate he was as a tiny kitten.
Soon, though, Mia grew into a huge black tomcat. Even then, he'd panic if I picked him up, but she could lug him around the house all she pleased, and he was fine with it. Mia would still just go limp and succomb to her doting attentions.
It still amazes me how gentle she was with her big tomcat, and how much he adored my daughter. Eventually, we moved, and he ended up lost to us forever...but my daughter and I still remember Miamoto fondly, and we talk about him and keep his memory alive.
This photo is one of a precious few I have to remember him, and his unwavering love of my daughter, by. I think it captures his love of creeping out of the shadows, too. We still miss him so much...