Laverne "Tigger" Harris March, 1983 August 26, 1997 Laverne was adopted, along with her brother, Custard, my sister's cat, from the Humane Society in the spring of 1983. She was named for the lead character in the sit-com, "Laverne and Shirley." Laverne was approximately 6 weeks old when we got her. She was quite a precocious girl, and from the beginning, she let us know who was the queen. This made me unhappy, as I wanted a cuddly kitten who would lick my face the way Custard was. This behaviour led to her first nickname, per the suggestion of my sister, of "Pepper Poo." She and Custard, in the picture on the left, who was named (though Tracy denies it) after my sister's favourite dessert at the time, Custard Pie, the colour of which resembled the colour of his fur, became fast friends, and were soon inseparable. You could always find Laverne letting Custard eat her food, or showing him the ways of the world (she was a little older than he) by showing him how to meow, or finding ways for them to get into someplace fun; or Custard finding ways to get both of them a little afternoon snack. And, at the end of a long day, you could often find them curled up together on the same bed, keeping each other warm. They soon starred in many feature films, including the Tree Mysteries, appeared in Television, including "Baby Norby's Cooking Class," and were the subject of numerous literary works, including Land of Lavion, and Gittle Stories. Laverne's modelling career also quickly took off, and she secured her place as the Prettiest Kitty in the World. One of the highlights of her career was a shoot for outdoor clothing, after Hurricane Gloria, in 1987. Also in 1987 occurred another significant event. Disney's cartoon, "The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh" premiered, and, upon my viewing the first episode, I discovered an entity which perfectly described my wonderful Laverne: Tigger. Smart, fun, bouncy trouncy flouncy, cute, striped and the most wonderful - all were things exhibited by Tigger and by Laverne. This led to another nickname in her long and ever-growing list: "Tigger," and led to my love for "the other Tigger," (meaning the Winnie-the-Pooh Tigger) and the eventual inspiration for The Tigger Shrine. In 1990, Cassie, my mother's kitten, was adopted. She was named after a character in "The New Adventures of Winnie-the-Pooh," of the same name, who was a robin that Rabbit took care of for a while. The reception from her siblings was not the most warm. At first, Laverne was cautiously welcoming to Cassie, with Custard wanting nothing to do with this strange beast. Soon, though, these attitudes changed, with Laverne wanting this weird animal out of her home, and with Custard taking the little weirdo under his warm, gentle paw. Soon, Custard and Cassie became best friends, which led to Laverne feeling as if he had betrayed her. Custard quickly became the recipient of Laverne's hisses almost as much as Cassie already was. The one thing which kept things in check was that Cassie was not let allowed outside, so Laverne and Custard were still best friends when outside playing. Laverne even found Cassie's company somewhat tolerable, the few times she was allowed outside, though she still resented that Custard wasn't on her side. In the spring of 1992, Custard became very ill with an unknown respiratory ailment, from which he died. In June, 1996, "the other Tigger" moved into my house to live with me. There was much happy confusion, as there were now two Tiggers, and the two girls and my family and I all welcomed the new addition with lots of extract-of-malt and smiles. In August, 1997, Laverne's health began failing, and was diagnosed with massive kidney failure, due to her advanced age. Several days after being diagnosed, she died in her home, on the morning of August 26, 1997. Last Updated: 30, August 1997 Nora Harris - hotmail.com Go to