Saturday, July 7, 2012

Wow. Calypso turned 15 last week.

Katherine was my first cat, but I had actually seen Calypso before I ever laid eyes on Katherine. I hadn't realized it at the time. Calypso had come from a litter kept in a cardboard box at my grandmother's house, which also housed Tabitha, the stray mother Grandma had been caring for. A round of guests had already stopped by to stake claim on several kittens. I had intended my first cat to come from that litter.

When I first gazed down into the box, all the tiny kittens were clumsily writhing around, mewing their high-pitched mews, cute and cuddly and innocent, as nature had intended them to be. At the time, I had it in my brain that I would own a gray cat, preferably a gray tabby. There was one such kitten in the litter, but it had already been spoken for. I was therefore immediately disinterested in the rest, including the black-and-white Calypso.

A couple weeks later, I saw Katherine at a shelter and fell in love. Calypso was claimed by one of my brother's high school friends, who would care for her the next two years. It wasn't until my brother's friend had moved in with a woman allergic/averse to cats that Calypso would enter my life.

Katherine and Calypso's first meeting didn't go well. There was a lot of hissing and slow, tentative movements...I had heard new cats should be slowly folded into the household, gradually introducing their scent to the other cat, but living in a tiny apartment made this impossible. So, I simply brought Calypso home, opened the carrier and watched her climb out and "interact" with Katherine.

The two were never the "best buds" I'd hoped they'd become, but they did tolerate each other for the next nine years. Katherine was the dominant cat, of course, which often meant she hoarded my attention. It wasn't until Katherine had became very sick that Calypso began asserting her true individuality. She has since grown to be very playful, very comfortable in her own dander.

I don't know how much time I have with Calypso. It could be six months or five years, but before long, the "pet ownership" chapter of my life will come to a close. Until then, I'm enjoying the time we have, fortunate she's still a part of my family.