The Dynamic Duo

Note to UltraBob: I promise to try to get back to our “Emily” story soon for the sake of our reader.

This has become an all-too-frequent theme in my posts; a tribute to a beloved pet who is no longer with us. Today its Brenda’s turn. Actually, it has been close to Brenda’s turn for two years now, but her tough little cat body finally wore out.

Brenda had the distinction of being our first indoor cat, probably much to the regret of UltraDad. UltraHeather, our resident animal-but-especially-cat lover found this stray, lonely, kitten on the gradeschool playground. Her teacher allowed her to bring it home. Her parents weren’t as agreeable. “Just for a few days til we find out who lost her.” Well, a “few days” turned into 14 years. It was wintertime, so we couldn’t turn the poor, helpless kitten out into the cold, cruel world, or so Heather convinced us. Brenda was a short-hair tortoiseshell cat, rather ordinary in appearance as cats go. But she had personality plus. As a kitten, she was explosive. Once when UltraDad was napping on the couch, she suddenly ran up, clawed his face, and scampered off and hid. It was a good thing for her that she was a good hider, cause UDad searched everywhere for her, and I don’t think she would have liked his reaction. If a paper towel or toilet paper roll was left unguarded, she shredded it. She loved the kid’s light foamy “bathtub blocks”, and often stole them and carried them around in her mouth, leaving permanent tooth marks.
So, you can see that when I said she had lots of personality, I didn’t mean she was necessarily very nice. You always knew where you stood with Brenda. If she was tired of being petted, she would let you know with a sharp bite or scratch. I remember that UltraBob found the magic spot to scratch along her back. As he massaged her, she would look back at him with her mouth open as if to say “As soon as this stops feeling so good, I plan to bite you.” But Heather was the recipient of her most loving nature. She would bring Heather little presents, and I remember Heather having a most ungrateful reaction one day at finding a dead mouse laying on her pillow.
As she grew older, Brenda got over many of her destructive tendancies, and even took to lap-sitting in her later years. I loved her loud, raspy purr. As many of us do, she acquired lots of nicknames, most notably, Brennie, Bren and Walter. The last was from UltraBob and I believe it evolved as follows: Walter Brennon (old actor), Walter Brennie, Walter. More than any of the other indoor cats, Brenda loved to be outside and was a good hunter. She often went out to “feed” with UDad, following along and sitting on the haystack as he fed cows and horses.
She loved to play. Once, I remember, when Toby was a kitten, Heather was playing a game with him. He was under her bed, and she was dangling a string, which he would leap out and attack. Unknown to Heather, Brenda was watching the game, and had crept around and under the bed. As she dangled the string for another round of play, instead of tiny kitten Toby, large cat Brenda exploded out from under the bed, nearly giving Heather a heart attack.
Several years ago, I noticed that it was getting difficult for Brenda to eat. The vet diagnosed something called a “rodent ulcer”, which he said had nothing to do with rodents. Maybe they used to think it did; I don’t know. Anyway, he said there was no cure, only treatment. She got her first shots of steroid and antibiotics, starting a regimen she would continue every 2 weeks to a month for the rest of her life. We (more usually UDad) learned to give the shots ourselves. The change in her after treatment was remarkable. She suddenly had an appetite and would play like a kitten. We could tell she was ready for another one when she started to drool excessively and lose her appetite. Lately, even the shots were having no effect.
Now, only one cat in the house. Polly looks healthy, so, hopefully it will be a long time before we have to write another pet tribute. With Brenda gone, it seems like the end of a dynesty of sorts. She will be missed.

UltraMom

Brenda Hiding