Ilya is not an ordinary kitten.
Ilya is that kind of kitten.
What kind of kitten do we mean?
Do we mean the kind of kitten who whirls like a purring puck of kindness?
He can hardly cuddle you quickly enough. He is made entirely of acceptance, from his minky ears to his Twizzler tail.
You may be wrinkled, disgruntled, or on the run from the vice principal. You may be uncool, uncouth, and unwelcome everywhere the pretty people like to party.
But in Ilya’s eyes, you are love on feet. You were born perfect. You have progressed from perfect to perfect. You are worth infinity times infinity cheeseburgers. Ilya is the kitten convinced you are gold.
Yes, Ilya is that kind of kitten. But there is more.
Do we mean the kind of kitten who shares his name with not one, but two, famous ice skaters?
Ilya seems to glide a half-inch off the ground. Enthusiasm is a stronger force than gravity. It does not matter how many times he has seen you, or a ping pong ball, or the meaty sacrament of lunch. It all gets more interesting, not less.
Each time Ilya blinks, it is like the angels ran a Zamboni over the surface of the universe. Everything is new. Ilya is the kitten incapable of boredom.
Yes, Ilya is that kind of kitten. But there is more.
Do we mean the kind of kitten who comforts curmudgeons?
This skill comes as some surprise. When you are smaller than an eclair, people do not expect much. They think you are limited, just because your brain is the circumference of a chickpea and you have been observed chasing your tail sixty-two times in rapid succession.
But this puts Ilya in position to sneak up on cynics unawares. Love is always an underdog. A purring pinch of soot underfoot is just the right size to slip between the cracks of a dry and broken heart.
Ilya is the kitten who surprises you with a sound you had not heard in a long time: your own laugh.
Yes, Ilya is that kind of kitten. But still, there is more.
Do we mean the kind of kitten who is convinced that all creatures are kittens?
This is not just innocence. This is the highest form of genius. In the Venn diagram of innocence and genius, you will find Mister Rogers, your Mee-Maw, and Ilya in the middle.
Like his fellow geniuses, Ilya can spot kittenhood under masks and makeup. He knows there are no adult cats on the premises. Not even Trent, who fancies himself fancy, formal, and fifty-five years old. Take it from Ilya: Trent is a kitten. Trent only acts haughty because he still wants to be the favorite kitten.
That, and the fact that Trent thinks one hundred percent of non-Trent individuals are as dumb as a bag of hammers. But Ilya doesn’t focus on that.
Ilya focuses on the kitten inside everyone. Olive is a kitten, even if her kittenhood is as hidden as the pimento in a kalamata.
You are a kitten, even if you conceal it under coolness and cargo pants.
I am a kitten, even if my Google search history includes “am I getting too old to wear a tutu?” and “best drugstore moisturizer to make my forehead less weird.”
All of us kittens need patience and presence. We need to know we are loved, even though we still have no idea what we are doing. Ilya is the kitten who gets all us kittens back on the dance floor.
Yes, Ilya is that kind of kitten. But there is something more we mean to mention.
We just keep forgetting, because Ilya’s other traits are more interesting.
Do we mean that Ilya is a paraplegic kitten?
Oh, right. There is that.
In the official record, that is the trait that sent Ilya to Tabby’s Place. We are, after all, the nest for kittens who “nobody else wants.”
The world is cuckoo for kittens, just not that kind of kitten. A kitten who can’t walk has nowhere to sit when the music stops. A kitten with Advanced Needs forfeits his Universal Cuteness Card.
A kitten like Ilya counts on the truest kind of love.
What kind do we mean? Yours.
We mean the kind that Cherishes the Kittens. Each of the kittens, kitten by kitten, as though he were Earth’s best kitten.
We mean the kind that reads “needs” as “opportunities to adore.”
We mean the kind that responds to Ilya’s groovy scooting moves with a quadruple-axel jump for joy.
We mean the kind that knows we are all that kind of kitten, whether we are dragging our back legs or our backstory.
Love’s Zamboni makes all things new.
So on behalf of Ilya, please Cherish the Kittens. Your donation will be doubled. You’ll open a place on the winner’s podium for a kitten who would otherwise be lost.
You’ll make sure Tabby’s Place is always that kind of place.
It’s a beautiful thing to be that kind of kitten.