After my first cat, Misty, was put down because of a tumor, I spent a month crying and wishing my cat was back. I spent time thinking about getting another gray tiger cat with green eyes and naming it Jupiter... or Luna... something to do with my obsession with Sailor Moon. But then I realized it would be way too obvious, and of course Sailor Moon was a reason why I got victimized for teasing by my classmates. So I thought of a more subtle name that never appeared in Sailor Moon. Stardust. I found out later that Stardust was part of the words to an incantation in an episode of Sailor Moon not included in the American dub. The incantation was Moon Tiara Stardust, instead of Moon Tiara Action. Nor only that, but Twilight comes from yet another incantation involving Sailor Moon's tiara in the manga, and her Moon Wand in the live-action series, Moon Twilight Flash! (I need a soundbite for that...)

My dad and I started looking for a cat at Vicky's in Pet's Mart. This place brings cats from the Humane Society to be adopted. When we were there, we played with the kittens and my dad told me that you know you've found the right cat when there's some sort of chemistry. If you just get a cat and don't look for the chemistry, you may just end up with a cat that has no personality. We ended up getting snubbed by Vicky's, which was sad for my mom who had picked up the phone and was told that because of Misty's veterinary record, she wouldn't let us adopt a cat. She ended with, "...and you're husband and daughter were so good with cats too." Poor Mom!!

So my dad and I began searching the Classified Ads, other pet shops, and Meijer Free Ads, until we came across a Free Ad about a 3-month old tortoise shell kitten that needed to be adopted. I didn't really know what tortoise shell meant, and it sounded really ugly to me. Tortoise shell... what did it have a hard turtle shell on it's back or something?

My dad called the number for the apartment, and, even with my reluctance, we headed on over with my younger brother, who insisted on coming. When we met the cat, she was very playful, but she only seemed to like my younger brother. She didn't even pay attention to me. I felt really bad taking it away from its home, but her owners insisted on it. I felt like crying. I told my dad I didn't want to get her. He kept asking, "Are you sure?" I was pretty sure... until I saw this look in his eye when he looked at the cat. When he asked, "Are you sure?" again, it was almost pleading. Then I remembered what he had said before, the chemistry. This was it, this cat that was ignoring me was The Cat. I realized this, and immediately changed my mind.

The owners asked me what I wanted to name the kitten. "Stardust," I said weakly. "Stardust? Heh, we've been calling her Junebug." I could remember my mom saying how gross junebugs were, I thought it was a cute name, but my mom absolutely detested it when we told her. But the name made us think that Stardust may have been born or possibly bought in June.

Stardust looks like a Stardust. Which is really quite funny. She has mostly black fur, with brushstokes of yellow and cream fur mixed in. On her arm and on her cheeks, she has very small patches of rust colored fur. It's so cute! ^.^