This is the second of three photo tributes I have put together for our late and very much lamented Isabelle. The first is here along with the links to other lost friends. I also eulogized her in some detail here.
As long as she got to be close to us she was tolerant of her monkeys’ foibles.
I mean, really tolerant.
She was even willing to put up with other cats and their smooches.
No matter if she was surrounded.
As long as she got to be with her people.
Snuggling was basically her reason for living. Whether we were sleeping.
Or working.
Or watching a movie.
She always wanted to be with people.
Always.
Though her definition of people could get pretty broad.
She was beautiful and I took hundreds of pictures trying to capture that.
I especially tried to get a shot of her perfect white bib.
And of her big blue eyes.
She spent a lot of time staring at us. Sometimes curiously.
Sometimes demandingly.
But most often with a sleepy sort of affection.
In her later years she took to reaching up and holding onto my ribs.
Speaking of holding things, she loved Laura’s braid.
She wasn’t always dignified. (post surgery for bladder stones)
She had a gentle heart.
And a curious one.
We bought her cat games which she liked to watch though rarely played.
If she couldn’t have a person the sun was all right too.
But both together was best.
We built the screen porch as much to indulge her as anything.
She got indulged a lot. HER chair had a permanent blanket fort.
She was tucked in whenever she wanted.
And she had the run of the house, from piano top…
…to bed, and beyond.
She could be playful in a sleepy sort of way.
She was very rarely grumpy.
Though she hated when we traveled and would try to stop us.
She grew to be good friends with our other main lapcat, Meglet.
It was always fun to catch her in an undignified moment.
She wasn’t very good at hiding. Mostly because she wanted to be found.
I miss her so much.