BY ELAINE KLAASSEN
One winter day in 2003, or maybe 2004, no one quite remembers, the mail carrier brought a very cold kitten into the office here at Southside Pride. It was way below freezing outside and there was no doubt that had she stayed out she would have frozen to death. She had long fur and a funny spot on her nose. Was she a Maine Coon cat, a Norwegian Forest cat, a Northern Fir cat? It was anybody’s guess. At the beginning it was Katie, Tumble and Aaron who took care of her. Over time everyone joined in. Matt built her a special tunnel out of cardboard so she wouldn’t have to wait for someone to let her out the window. Ron swept her every morning with her special broom. David called it “brooming.” She loved Ed (who said he was “allergic” to cats) and spent most of her hours curled up on his lap, when she wasn’t out inspecting the roof or playing with her numerous toys. She was a petite bundle of office morale.
At some point we all noticed she was slowing down, and becoming more cuddly, but didn’t think too much of it until she didn’t like her food anymore. By the time she was diagnosed with diabetes, she was too sick to rally. Bridgit took her home and tried to bring her back with round-the-clock care, but to no avail. When Shivers died on the vet’s table, Friday, Feb. 7, she came back to life once, purring. Bridgit thought she was saying, “Thank-you.”
