| We often say that Lilith is not so much Joe's cat, as Joe is her person.
When we met her at the animal shelter, she gave me a friendly look and sniff,
then turned to Joe. She ran up his legs, over his lap, planted herself on his chest and started purring and kneading -- a ritual she still follows daily.
We are often asked if she is named after the character in "Cheers." Actually, she's not. She takes her name from the mythical Lilith, about whom we'd been doing some research at the time we adopted the cat. Joe felt that the cat was much like the mythical figure -- that she could really be a wonderful and loving person if given half a chance. Her first nickname comes from her voice. Lilith really doesn't meow; rather, she chirps, or squeaks, on the rare occasions when she needs to say something. Her second nickname has two sources -- first, from the rounded shape of her muzzle, which reminded us of that famous Japanese monster; and secondly, the fact that in her younger days, Lilith had a tendency to treat our entire house the way Godzilla treats downtown Tokyo. |
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Lilith's life began in difficult circumstances. She was brought to the Washington County animal shelter in May of 1998 at the age of about five months. She'd been found in a one-bedroom apartment, with nine other cats and kittens, abandoned when the tenants skipped out. When she came to us, she was painfully thin, with dull brittle fur, and just about every intestinal parasite you'd care to name. But she still had the soul of a fighter -- when the vet tried to draw blood for a test, she fought so hard she threw the needle right out of her leg, bent at right angles!
After a few months with us, she had gained weight, shed the parasites, and become the sleek, panther-like beauty that she remains to this day. Lilith is the "security chief" of the house, taking on the task of patrolling everywhere and making sure that nothing is out of place. She gets along with all the other cats, although understandably losing her patience now and then when Kyouju tries to get in her face. |
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