minus two

Alert: reading may cause tears.

This morning the tiny house was very very quiet.  In October, I received fair warning not to take a day with Greta for granted and we had six weeks of back-to-normal where I tried to make each day a good day for her.  I said goodbye to Greta yesterday.

In March 2001, EBF and I adopted Greta from a shelter in the Seattle area. Later that year after we both lost our jobs, she travelled with us as we drove through Canada to Ottawa. I could not have imagined then that I would ask her to do the cross-country drive again 16 years later.

For the past few years at the condo, Greta’s routine was an elderly cat’s routine with most of the time sleeping on my bed. On the road trip this spring, MAC noted that Greta seemed rejuvenated. She did amazing with all the changes—curious and affectionate during the 12 day road trip, then a month at my stepmother’s cottage where she liked to watch the fishing boats and go outside on the deck, then the front porch of the farmhouse where she had a good view of life in the country, and then the lovely tiny house.

This summer, she surprised me by suddenly becoming a lapcat. In the tiny house, she surprised me again by quickly figuring out how to navigate the ladder to the sleeping loft (it was her cat fort up there).

Greta was my companion for over 16 years (much longer than any of my relationships with men lasted). I expect to feel the void for a long time. There is now no one to tell when I’m going out, no one to welcome me home. Thank you for taking such good care of me, Greta. May you be free from suffering now.

Obituary
Greta
March 2000 (estimate) – December 2017
On 12/05/2017, after a little morning walk in the first dusting of snow, Greta passed on with human mom Sheri at her side.

Adopted from a Seattle area cat shelter in March 2001 where she was described as “feisty,” Greta was particularly quick with her claws during the first year of trust-building (she had been returned by at least one other adopter who fell for Greta’s pretty face).

In November 2001, Greta was along for the ride east across Canada to Ottawa. After 5 years, Greta travelled back west by plane to settle again in the Seattle area. For 11 years there along with brother Toffus, Greta was a wonderful, affectionate companion to Sheri.  Greta was an indoor-only cat and, in earlier years, liked to run outside when Sheri opened the apartment door (and even managed to climb up a tree on one of her sprees). She never missed an opportunity to try to drag a scone off an unattended plate during her mom’s leisurely weekend breakfast. In later years, she slowed down with age and liked to talk a lot in a raspy voice. A favoUrite hang out was a heated circular cat bed dubbed “the old kitty lady hot tub.”

In the last six months of her life (~2.5 years in cat years) and after her brother Toffus had passed on, Greta helped her mom in a big transition: another road trip east and then life in the country in a tiny house. She never lost the quickness with her claws but, at 17 years old, she decided it was finally time to become a lapcat.  In lieu of flowers, please give a hug or kiss to the furry kid(s) in your family.

References and related links:

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• Previous post: a second chance
• EBF: ex-boyfriend
• MAC: mon amie Caroline