I met Malibu in September of 2001 as one of a litter of four kittens. Dr. King at Concord Animal Hospital helped me say good-bye to my first cat, Missy just 2 weeks earlier. When I went to Concord that night I came to visit the litter, his siblings were busy trying to attract my attention when I detected a louder purr and realized the kitten trying to disappear into the wall was the ’cause’.

A few days later and still without a name, he joined his sister (Sheba) as we made our first trip to their new home. The next day I had to return to Concord because I noticed little fleas popping on both of them and when I loaded them into a carrier Sheba was not happy and began to cry. Before we arrived at Concord, she settled down after her brother cuddled up next to her in the carrier and had a protective paw around her. I knew that he would have a calming effect on both of us so his name came from the calming effect of seeing the Pacific ocean each morning on my drive thru Malibu Canyon on my way to graduate school.

Months later, my oldest niece bestowed him with his nickname — Love Bug.  Malibu loved to sit in my lap and having my arms around him wasn’t always enough human contact … he had to also have one of his paws on my arm.  He slept with me every night and when I started working from home a couple of years ago, he was my constant companion in my home office — sleeping peacefully on top of the bed behind me.  Malibu loved being outside … we would sit out in the back yard when the weather was nice and he made “the rounds” — wandering in my flower beds and then down the side walk to the gate at the alley just to stare at anything that caught his attention.

Following 2 seizures, I had to say goodbye to him 16 years and 8 months later.  Sitting in my lap the entire way back to Concord, I’m sure he knew what was happening — only becoming a little agitated when we walked in the door.  In typical style, he hissed loudly at the staff and Dr. King until he settled on my lap for the final time.

Thanks to Let your Love Grow and Bob & Annette Jenkins, Malibu remains with me in spirit as a newly planted Dynamite Red Crepe Myrtle — in one of my flower beds in the back yard.  

— Cathy Ebbesmeyer