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| Me and Galadriel in 2016. |
1. We found her at PetSmart in 2004. My brother, my roommate at the time, wanted a cat, so we went to check out the shelter cats. She was the only one that showed any real attention to us. She rubbed back and forth against the bars of the cage. When they took her out for us to meet, she was so friendly that we took her on the spot.
For two weeks after she tried to escape.
2. Galadriel would bite your nose if you picked her up. She stare at you with her big yellow green eyes, reach up close, and then chomp down on your nose. Or your chin, if she was so inclined. Could never figure out why she did it.
4. She had the oddest way of drinking water. Firstly, it was rare to ever see her drink water to begin with. But when she did, she often would dip her paw in the water and lick it instead of going right in the dish.
5. I bought her toys. I bought her beds. I won fancy cat stuff for her. She rarely if ever used any of it. Her favorite toys were my ponytail holders, the rings to milk cartons, and sometimes toys on a string. She preferred to lay on scratch pads, baby blankets, and over the last six months one particular dining room chair cushion.
6. I will never be able to get her fur out of my favorite chair.
7. We had these vaulted ceilings in one apartment, and these huge cabinets in the kitchen -- so huge I never used them. One day I found her chillaxing on the top of the cabinets. She would get on the counter and jump to the top of the cabinet and just lay there for hours.
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| Not the cabinets -- this was the cabinet in the garage of the house in the last couple years. No idea how she ever got up here. |
9. She was messy. She was messy eating. She was messy in the cat pan. I cleaned the cat pan and replaced the litter one day. When I came home I found litter all over the bathroom floor. AND I MEAN all over.
10. She liked to think she was a tough kitty. If you got in her way, she made sure to let you know -- either vocally or physically.
11. She had this habit of sitting in doorways and as people walked by in a way she didn't like, she'd take a swing at your leg. She got more than a few people that way.
12. Galadriel never touched people food, ever -- until Koko, my oldest cat died in 2011. Then all of a sudden she loved human food.
13. In 2011, my apartment was broken into. Galadriel, who was normally fearless with strangers, all of a sudden hid from men -- like the men who fixed my broken window, or the friend who came by to help me. But she also never left my side. She was my comforter for weeks after -- or I was hers.
14. The dogs were usually afraid of her in the beginning. More than once in the early months, Lulu would not pass her for fear she'd take a swipe at her. And right up until the end, Cappy would refuse to walk past her.
15. There was only one dog unafraid of Galadriel. That was Jasmine. Galadriel would pick fights, and Jasmine would fight back. They had a few epic fights. But in the end, the two of them were very sweet to each other.
16. She loved to be outside. Every once in a while I would let her sit on the lanai with the dogs. She would sun herself and roll on the ground. I didn't let her go out all the time. But when I did it was a treat.
17. Galadriel had better recall than the dogs, who I had trained to come when called.
18. Galadriel never learned to boop heads. No matter how hard I tried. I wish she had.
19. She had the softest fur. And silky.
20. People said I had matched my pets. It was never my attention. But yeah, I had tri-color pets, but Galadriel was first.
21. She was beautiful. Even when her jaw was broken and crooked. She was beautiful.
22. And even though she didn't start out as mine, she surely was in the end.
On Thursday, Dec. 21, Galadriel went to the Rainbow Bridge. Sleep well kitty.
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| A painting I did a while back of Galadriel with my heart cat, Koko. They're both forever in my heart now. |
