Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
Anatole Frances
Introducing Shadow
Shadow came into my life when she was about four years old. A friend, living in Minneapolis with her husband and two cats, had recently inherited two additional cats from her husband’s nephew. Knowing that my cat had recently died, Mika called, saying, “Shadow is so sweet, but a bit needy. She would be perfect for you. Plus, four cats are just too much!” I laughed and said, “Yes, sounds like a great idea!”
Mika flew to Seattle with Shadow, staying the week-end. Shadow made herself at home immediately. I quickly discovered that my beautiful black, petite cat loved to climb, especially to the top of doors and bookcases. I was always amazed how she kept her balance. Very soon, her favorite place to sleep at night was next to my pillow and we quickly became best buddies.
Other places that Shadow enjoyed climbing included a ladder, which I had used to change a light bulb. Seeing that Shadow liked it, I kept in open in the living room, putting a beach towel on the top shelf where she liked to take naps.
Shadow loved Christmas, climbing the tree both before and after it was decorated. Because she was so light, she never knocked the tree over, though I would find ornaments on the floor and sometimes she would meow for me to take her down from the tree.
The company where I worked was downsizing the marketing division and I was one of the staff let go. A plus was that it gave me more time to spend with Shadow. When I had telephone interviews (located in different parts of the US), she was very quiet, watching intently and wondering if we would be moving.
To be continued ….
