Ciao, Amica

We said goodbye to our cat, Amica, over the weekend. She was almost 16, suffering a rapid decline from kidney disease, and had stopped eating. We are very sad that she is gone but we do have some very fond memories.


In the summer of 1995, I was home from college and feeling a little lonely. I told my mom I wanted a kitten. She responded, practically, "who will take care of the cat when you leave to study abroad in the fall?" Hmmm. Good point. I dropped the subject of getting a kitten but then, imagine the timing, my mom ended up rescuing a little 3 month old cat from a co-worker later that summer.


Having studying Italian that summer, in preparation for going to Rome, I decided to name the kitten Amica, which means "friend." I had hoped to take her to Santa Clara with me when I returned from Italy but it wasn't to be. Allergic roommates and no-pet apartments kept Amica living with my mom until Chris and I bought our house in early 2002.


Amica was always a very interesting cat. She had a unique look, being part Siamese (beautiful blue eyes and coloring), part Himalayan (long hair), and part Manx (no tail). Not the stereotypical aloof cat, she was incredibly social, loving all people (especially those allergic to cats). She was quite the talker, always meowing at us. She loved to play in dripping water and we turned the shower on for her almost every day. Out of town guests were always a little taken aback by finding a cat in their shower, meowing and tapping the faucet with her paw.


Amica loved to hide in things: boxes, suitcases, whatever. She liked sitting on paper and we'd joke that she read with her behind. She was always very "helpful" at Christmas time, jumping all over/under the wrapping paper. On time, Amica jumped on top of my mom's hot tub, thinking the cover was closed. Unfortunately for her, it was open and she went for an unexpected swim. I have never seen a cat look so indignant. Chris remembers meeting Amica for the first time when he came to meet my family in the spring of 1998. He immediately liked the little cat who followed him everywhere (including the bathroom), talking to him the entire time. He says she made him feel very welcome.

Amica had a few different monikers over the years. After jumping head first into a tall box and getting stuck, we called her Cat Butt. During some rather portly years, she was referred to as Piglet or Piggy. Marshall always referred to her as Kitty. Here are some parting shots:

Not sure why the sink was appealing!

Amica and Riley always got along well
We called this pose "the dead cootie"

"Evil Emperor Kitty" (Star Wars reference)

Surprise, surprise, cat in a box

Amica and the boys

Final pic of Kitty from earlier this month

Spring!

The latter part of March and the first part April have been good! Knock on wood, we are all in good health. After what seemed like never-ending rain, we have been enjoying SUPER weather. Sunny, temps in the high 70's. Marshall and I have been spending most of our time outdoors. We've also had some fun weekend activities recently.

Weekend before last, Marshall had a sleepover at his Grammy Mary Ann and Poppy John's on Saturday night and Chris and I went to dinner and a movie. A very nice date night. On Sunday, we drove up to the St. Helena/Calisotga area to meet friends for wine tasting. Such a fun day. The weekend even ended on a good note, having dinner with Mary Ann and John on Sunday when we picked Marshall up. Chris and I are still telling everyone that was one of the best weekends we've had in a long time!

This past weekend, Chris went to to Idaho with a couple friends for a ski trip. They had good snow and a fun time. Marshall and I were lucky enough to have the help and company of my mom over the weekend. She came to visit one last time before her annual 6 month stint at their cabin.

My sister has been fostering a puppy and trying to find him a home. We've been over to see him a couple of times. A sweet little guy. I wish we were in a position to take him (and his siblings) but hopefully a good home will come his way shortly. Here are some photos from our visits to Steph's: