.Echo.

"Duck?" A voice chattered down the hallway.

Duck?!

"Duck!" It repeated, excitement dancing around the letters with utmost joy and anticipation.

Duck!

I poked my head from around the corner, my eyes dancing and begging for the little plastic toy. Prancing towards Novena with a pip in every step, I halted in front of her as she waved my most favorite thing in the world in front of me. Oh boy!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

"Do you want it?" She teased, staring at me with her eyes as wide as my own. I hollered at her in protest, demanding she hand it over. "You really really want it?"

YES, FOR THE LOVE OF BASTET GIVE IT TO ME.

"Go get it!" And off it flew! Soaring through the air, I could almost see the wings burst free from the material to let it glide with the most beautiful of free - oh, it hit the wall! It went flying backwards so fast, I couldn't quite keep up with it. I scanned the air, finding it as it - oh, it hit another wall... I turned around quickly as it whizzed past my head, pouncing on the little duck as it bounced onto the floor.

I caught it! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Flicking my tail with a victorious twitch, I grasped the duck by the bum and whisked around to show my furless companion my trophy. With a bouncy dance in my step, I waltzed back to her to present to her my kill, speaking to her with pride.

"Good girl!" She praised, stroking my back and scratching my ears. I didn't want any of that, though. "You brought it to me!" More petting insued, but I just wanted another duck to share with the world.

I hollered at her again. I loved her so - it was as if she could understand! She picked up my prize, patted me one more time, and off the duck flew once more. Only this time, it went flying in a whole new direction, bouncing off another wall and off the strange, white, loud rumbly thing that the humans placed their coverings in. Regardless of the odd features my humans insisted on living with, I carelessly made my way through their belongings and once more found my beloved trophy. But wait... What's that?I dug through some smelly coverings left on the floor beside a large container full of them. Digging and digging, pawing away a horridly stinky white thing. Beneath a few other things, I found... Another duck! This one was black in color, fangs sticking from it's mouth and an odd human covering decorating the man-made material.

A duck! A duck! A new duck! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

I was confused. Which one would she want? The one she tossed for me to find? Or this new one? I looked back and forth between them both, unsure of what to do. I sat and turned to look at my human life friend, hollering at her to come look. I don't know what to do!

"Oh, what is it, Echo?" She huffed, "You gotta bring it to me."

WELL PICK ONE, HUMAN.

"Come on, get it and bring it to me!" She said, motioning for me to hurry. I spoke to her once more in protest, sighing and turning back to the two prizes that lay before me. I shrugged, grabbed the new one, and waltzed my way back over to her, my tail bouncing behind me.

"Oh, good girl, you found another duck!"

DUCK.

She patted me, scratched my ears, and away flew the duck once more. Time flew by as fast as those pesky little ducks, but not once did I care. I was having so much fun. Sooner rather than later, as unfortunate as it may be, I grew tired and weary and could not chase nor hunt down those ducks any longer. I laid the duck to rest beside me and lay on the floor, sprawled out to cool my warm coat.

"Such a good girl, Echo," my life friend mused, coming over to pet my sleepy head, "Yes, you are!" I sighed, a gentle purr escaping from within.

Ahh, ducks.



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Echo was born on March 28th, 2014. Breached at birth, it was almost as if it were destiny for her to suffer from mild life complications, but it didn't stop her from fighting against it all and triumph over them as she does her beloved ducks. Mostly deaf until about 8 months old, training her to do anything was near impossible for her human companions, but intelligence ruled over it with ease. Using key hand signals and mouth movements, she was able to understand and learn as she grew older, eventually showing her furrever life friends that she could in fact hear them, although it was cloudy and difficult at first. However, her friends began to notice an odd feature about her stunning blue eyes - they moved! All the time!

It was then discovered that Echo had Nystagmus, an oddly adorable eye disorder. Frequent mostly in cats with Siamese running through their veins, Nystagmus can cause all sorts of problems, or none at all! While it can be a sign of a brain tumor, it is highly rare, especially in Siamese kitties, as it can merely be just a genetic defect. However, in some cats, it can be caused by all sorts of things. If you feel your kitty may have Nystagmus, be sure to talk to your veterinarian to ensure that it isn't a sign of something more severe.

With all of the luck in the world, it seems as if Echo has once again triumphed over the hardships life has thrown at her. She's as happy and bouncy as can be, starved for attention even while she's getting it, and enjoys the duck chasing and ear scratchings like your average kitty. Dark places has proven to be difficult for her to navigate, but with her eyes mostly focused on getting those ducks, her nose has proven to be one of her greatest allies during the hunt.