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| Name: |
Indi
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Age: |
Deceased, Eleven years old
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| Gender: |
Female
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Kind: |
Norwegian Forest Cat
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| Home: |
Lopez Island, Washington, USA |
On
February 13, we lost our valentine, Indi Anna Jones, our companion,
friend, confidante and watch cat. She had been with us since shortly
after her birth, and would have been twelve years old on her next birthday.
A Norwegian Forest Cat by birth, she spent most of her 10+ years as a
live-aboard, our "Cat o' the Boat", as we moved from sailboats to a tiny
trawler, but recently discovered her true calling of "Cat o' the Forest"
during our almost-two-years living in the forest during a major haulout.
This is where she died, in our arms, and forever in our hearts, after a
brief, mysterious illness. She is buried on the grounds of Spencer's
Spit State Park, under a pear tree, with a view of the sunrise and
overlooking the water, here on beautiful Lopez Island, thanks to the
kindness of our favorite forest rangers.
Indi was an adventuresome soul. She was with us for 3 weeks before we
named her, but after witnessing her, suspended upside down and firmly
attached to the nylon webbing on the bottom of our futon bed (we were
still land bound at that time), crawling the entire length to the wall
and up onto the pillows, her name simply had to be "Indi Anna Jones".
She lived up to her moniker, climbing the cedar walls, leaping down onto
an unsuspecting head on the stairs. Then we three became live-aboards.
Harrowing escapades abounded, as she became the favored dock cat, loved
by people and dogs alike. She won every race with the neighboring
Corgi, cheating occasionally by taking a shortcut diagonally at our
fingerpier, becoming legendary as the "cat who walked on water", or
"Halloween Kitty" (oh, the dripping fur and crazed eyes). Conversely,
all she had to do was poke her head out the door, and Tilly, the
Rottweiler, would give her a side glance, and step up her pace in order
to get past our boat before Indi actually made it outside. Never
aggressive, nonetheless, Indi brooked no quarter with her four-legged
"friends", and loved all two-legged ones unconditionally, except for the
herons, whom she stalked relentlessly. She participated actively in
dock talk with whoever came along, reporting everything to us when she
got home.
Living in the forest during her last two years was a blessing for her.
She loved watching the deer, rabbits and birds, and went on
overnighters, proudly dropping her conquests (shrews) at the door for us
to admire. She developed an appetite for dragonflies while on the boat,
and was able to indulge herself on these snacks, as well as all of the
grass she could eat, instead of making do with the small plot of grass
we grew for her onboard. Indi lived fully, no matter what her
environment. She taught us about unconditional love, although there has
been some talk about who she loved best, the conclusion being that she
loved each of us differently. Indi comes to visit occasionally at
night, until she gets a new "assignment," according to her dad. If we
are very lucky, that assignment will be with us. In the meantime, we
have wonderful, endearing memories of her, and she lives in our hearts
(as well as on our computer desktops).
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