A waitress in Belvidere, IL kept asking if I wanted a kitten. I almost didn't accept but I finally did and went out to her farm where there were three Red Tabby kittens on the dirt floor of her barn. I reached for one of them and she told me that somebody else had already requested them. I decided that maybe it wasn't a good idea then because I already had a black and white cat and there were several of them. Once I hesitated, she told me 'go ahead and take one' which I did and it was the best thing that could have happened to me at that time. We bonded immediately and he sat on my chest as I drove him home. I thought it was a girl and a friend at work suggested the name 'Amber' so it was so until the doctor told me Amber was a boy. Oh well. The name stuck and he didn't care. He lived in 7 different states as we made our way across the USA. He was the nicest and friendliest cat I have ever known. He had a uniqueness to him that made me wonder if he were truly a cat at all. It was just the way he looked at me and his demeanor. Anyways, he was only sick one day in his life, in Vancouver, Washington, until his kidneys failed when he turned 13. It was a very sad moment. He had been ill for a couple of days and had been sleeping in our guest room. On his last morning, he came into my bedroom and laid at the foot of my bed making some sounds to let me know he was there. He then convulsed twice and passed away. It was his way of saying goodbye after all the years of fun together.