Shortly after Mike and I started dating, I decided to get a kitten. My little sister's cat Tina (side note: she named EVERYTHING Tina, including her dish towels, because it was "a princess name") had just had a litter a couple of months before, so I went home one weekend to see if any of the kittens seemed like the right one for me. J and Loni, who were both still tweens, were pretty enthusiastic about helping me, and before I knew it, they had brought all the kittens inside for my perusal. Most of the kittens were curious about each other and the house (because my parents don't have indoor pets), but one tiny little calico bundle came right up to me and curled up in my lap and started purring. And with that, Greta had chosen her person, so we took the train back to the city to start our lives together.
That first year was interesting. Greta was such a quirky cat, always getting into things and doing things I wouldn't expect. And so cute! Unbeknownst to me, my friend Val submitted a picture of Greta to Cat Fancy, and it was chosen for the company's calendar, which Val gave me for Christmas that year. They didn't print bios, but if they did, Greta's would have said something like this: Loves knocking over plants, taking leisurely strolls through the bottom of a running shower, and sleeping curled up in her person's hair. Tolerates her person's boyfriend. Hates being left out of any kind of activity.
A year later, after Mike and I got serious, we decided that Greta needed a friend, and conveniently, Tina had just had another litter, so Greta got a sister out of the bargain. After a rocky introduction, Greta and Dora learned to live together very well. I can't say the same thing for when we started adding kids to the mix, because Greta never fully warmed up to them, but occasionally she would allow herself to be petted and/or admired by the boys (which is more than we can say for Dora, but that's a post for another day). Honestly, of all the additions we've made over the years, I think Greta might have liked Charlie the best, particularly once she realized she could boss him around -- which in practice turned out to mean getting in front of him to drink the water from his bowl whenever she felt like it. Occasionally, she also allowed Charlie to exist in the same room with her.
Greta really was a very quirky cat. She LOVED playing in the sink. Not just drinking from the faucet, although that was a favorite, but running the water all over her head and neck. Every morning, as soon as I got up, she would follow me around, meowing loudly, until I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth so she could get a drink and play in the water. Every evening, she would hang out on the fringes of the living room, waiting for me to be ready to go to bed for the same reason. If she got impatient, she would come over and put her paw on my hand, as if to nudge me in the right direction. She also loved sitting with me and "helping" me work.
Greta's health had been failing for a while, and this week Mike and I made the painful decision to end her life to spare her any more suffering. I took her to the vet's office yesterday afternoon, and stayed with her, talking to her and petting her and letting her know that I was her person right to the end of the line. It was incredibly difficult for me, but thankfully not for her, and I know that we made the right choice.
So goodbye, Greta. Thank you for letting me be your faithful human for these past 15 years. It has truly been a joy.
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