After the discussion about my great-great aunt in the previous post, I thought it was time to introduce Sandy. Sandy originally belonged to my great-great aunt. When she was a kitten, she was abused, and has been skittish ever since. Early on to Annie's (my great-great aunt) adoption of Sandy, Sandy hid under the bed, and wouldn't come out. Annie was contemplating taking her back to the vet, and I was visiting. I crawled under the bed and extracted a very unhappy cat. At that point, I would have taken her back, too. Fortunately, after extraction, Annie and Sandy came to an agreement. Years later, when Annie passed away, I said I would take Sandy.

Hours after Annie passed away, I was trying to coax Sandy out of the closet. My grandmother walked in, threw a towel over her and put her in the box for transport. After arriving at my house, she spent two weeks hissing at me. I wasn't sure if I could keep this up. Then, I went to Annie's memorial service. An elderly woman approached me, and said "I understand that you have taken Sandy. I'm so glad to hear that. When Annie adopted Sandy we told her that she was at an age that the cat would out live her. She said "My family will take care of my cat when I'm gone". " Geez. With that in my mind, I went back to making friends with Sandy. We have become fast friends. She has learned to become bold, but friendly. Here she is sitting next to Lilo - an amazing advancement for her.

She has become so brave. Annie can pet her without fear of being bit. She comes out when friends are around. In fact, a friend came to visit from far away, who is allergic to cats. He couldn’t resist. Sandy came up, and he had to pet her. He ultimately ended up with cat hair in a place that an allergic person doesn’t want cat hair. Sorry, dude.

On top of that: she won’t use the cat box. She uses the floor wherever it is convenient to relieve herself. Every time I find it, I think I’m going to have her put to sleep. But, damn her, every time I sit down, she’s on my lap purring like you wouldn’t believe. She’s the lovingest thing, and I can’t bring myself to end it.

Oh well, I can deal…

Loving the feline ways...