Whoa, whoa, whoa, now. I am not putting Kip out to pasture, or something like that.

But let’s be real. For years, Kip has not been getting the attention he deserves. For nearly three years, to be exact. And it sucks. But you know what? You guys would think there was something terribly wrong with me if I neglected my children in favor of Kip. You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.

Circumstances at this point are such that I had to make the hard decision to give up Kip. The finances are tight, and with our impending week in a hotel, the timing seemed to point toward Kip no longer living with us. Not to mention the fact that Kip swiped at Chris a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t leave a scratch, but do I really want that to actually happen before its time to give Kip up? Plus, Mike keeps kicking at Kip. As much as we tell him not to do it, Mike and Chris are only going to get more rambunctious. It was time for a calmer home environment for Kip, who is 8 years old.

So, in Kip’s honor, I’ve compiled a top 10 list of Kip posts.

10. Overture to CuteOverload.com — This was a shameless attempt to try to get Kip on CuteOverload.com. Basically its just adorable cat photos.

9. For your consideration — As a kitten, Kip was kind of nuts.

8. Kip + feathers = funny pictures — Eventually, Kip pretty much made this feather toy bald.

7. Recap: Introducing Kip — My first Kip post. He was so cute as a kitten!

6. Impromptu photo shoot with Kip — I was apparently on a quest to get the perfect cute photo of Kip.

5. Bath time — Kip’s grimacing mug anchored my site for a long time. Remember?

4. Kip vs. the Cat Clubhouse — I’d say it was one round before Kip KO’d the club house.

3. Scaredy cat Christmas — Kip HATES workmen.

2. Kip vs. the handle bag — I still don’t know how Kip got his big head into this handle.

1. My cat is a genius — The famous mouth-taping incident that led to a Christmas card and a couple of lolcats.

So, what’s next for Kip? It’s not a shelter, if that’s what you were worried about. Kip is moving to Hollywood, to live with my old coworker Mark, who has been a fan of Kip’s for a while. Mark has a smaller place of course, but Kip won’t have to worry about preschooler feet and toddler hands coming at him all of a sudden at Mark’s.

I have mixed feelings, of course. I am so busy with caring and cleaning up after two young boys and working that trying to maintain Kip has just fallen by the wayside. And at the same time, there’s no avoiding scooping the litter box or trying to sweep up fur and scattered litter. And very honestly, I will be glad not to have to get pissed at Kip when I see paw prints and cat litter strewn across the kitchen table — ew.

At the same time, it’ll be a bummer to not have him sitting on my feet on cold winter nights anymore. And I’ll miss our impromptu boxing matches between the banister bars that made Mike laugh.

Sigh. In a perfect world, we’d be able to keep him. But we surely do not live in a perfect world.