14 years ago, a friend of ours found a cat (not sure how old) at the local animal shelter and she was immediately smitten. She loved her color, her spunk, her eyes, her size (she was small) AND her name. When our friend went to the animal shelter to adopt a new cat, she saw this charcoal grey w/ white cat with piercing green eyes and read the name, Anonymous Cat. Although someone wrote in magic marker (in parenthesis) after the word anonymous. The word they wrote was (DiFranco). So, not only was our friend smitten by this beautiful, spunky, fun cat, but she was a huge fan of Ani DiFranco. Ani's song Shameless was a big hit at that time, too.
So, our friend adopted Anonymous (DiFranco) Cat and renamed her Ani-Cat. I could see what my friend saw in her, she was fiesty. She was a birder, and could jump amazing heights. She was also very tough for a smaller cat, our friend's roommate had other cats--male cats--and Ani-Cat became the Queen of the Roost in no time. On the other hand, Ani-Cat was very affectionate; she loved to have her neck scratched and would sometimes push her head under your chin mid-scratch. She had a loud purr, which matched her personality.
A few months later, our friend was accepted to go for grad. school in the UK and thought it best not to take Ani-Cat with her. So, our friend asked my, then boyfriend, now husband, if he would like to have her. We were kind of living together and so, he asked my opinion, and of course I agreed. She was a lovely cat, after all. That was 13 years ago, last August.
She was a great pet, and great comforter, a great companion and did I mention she was tough? She was mostly an indoor cat, but she had never been de-clawed. Since we weren't sure how old she was, we didn't want to risk an unnecessary surgery, so we let her keep her claws. Not too much after we bought our first home in a suburb of Detroit, she got loose. We had a crazy cat-lady on our street and she immediately went over there, although I didn't know that at the time and was searching the neighborhood. Fortunately, my Mom was visiting and we both found her in an old, beaten up car, which was in the cat-lady's driveway. Ani-Cat was hurt, but not too badly, she seemed more agitated with the other cats in that car. Her hair was up and she was growling. I called the vet and took her in. He did notice some bite wounds on her hip, but said to me (and yes, I've never forgotten), "Man, her nails are shredded! She put up one heck of a fight. I'd hate to see what the other cat(s) look like." And I thought to myself--with a sense of motherly pride, "Damn right! She's one tough bitch; you don't mess with her!"
Soon we were off the the UP and several months of life in Married Housing *shudder* where no pets were allowed. We had to fudge that rule, because there was no way we were placing Ani-Cat in a "kennel"; plus, we knew it was temporary until we found a house. Ani, which is what we shorted her name to, was not too happy being cooped up and while we were at work, during the day, a neighbor told me that he could hear her meowing. Needless to say, she wasn't happy in that apartment and neither were we. About 4 months later, we bought a house. It is located next to a heavily wooded area, a "suburb" of Houghton, if you will. Ani was very happy. She did get out on occasion, but stayed in doors mainly. Since we lived in a wooded area, we would, from time to time, get a mouse in our house. Thankfully, Ani was a skilled mouser, and a skilled chipmunker, and a skilled bat-ter, too. (Plus, a few birds went missing from the bird feeder area). She was VERY patient with the kids, as they grew, but not so patient when we adopted Sasha, the husky-mix. Now, husky's have a bad reputation when it comes to smaller animals...some eat smaller animals. Ani wasn't having it and from day one put that dog in her place. And over the years, whenever Ani was pissed off about something, anything (a baby pulling her tail, getting her nails trimmed, etc) she took it out on the dog. She would sneak up on the dog and come out swingin' and hissin', poor dog didn't stand a chance.
Well, Anonymous (DiFranco) Cat, we tried to give you a good home and good life, and I think we succeeded. You will be missed! RIP, girl!
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