Happy Tails
Gigi
By Tosha B.
After multiple attempts to tell the story of Robin and Gigi, I have come to the conclusion that nothing captures the heart of Gigi more than Robins's own words:
I lost all three of my pets in the last five years, all to old age. I was pretty sure that I was going to "hold off" on getting a new pet for a while - losing those three friends has been hard on me. But eventually, I said to myself "what am I waiting for???" So I started to look in earnest.
I wanted a cat-- specifically one that was independent enough to not be totally intimidated by being alone for a couple of days. Tsu's description seemed to fit that bill, so I submitted an application and Mary Ann responded almost immediately. She told me about Tsu's background, being a kicked-out kitten, befriending a postal worker, and my heart just melted. She told me things that might even dissuade me- about how it might take a 
while for Tsu to warm up to me, and that her last adoptive parent hadn't been patient enough for that, that she might bite me if I tried to pick her up or rub her belly. She told me that she didn't always get along with other cats, so might be best off being "only cat" aka Princess. Still, I was invited for visit and decided to go. I did not expect much - did not expect that the little girl would even come out. But come out she did, let me pet her and we played.
Coming home, she was pretty nervous. She pretty much holed up in her "room" at first, even though the door was open, so we sat in there together when I was home. Within a day or two, she started venturing out, and eventually, she was in that room less and less.
Tsu - I call her Gigi now, sometimes Suzy-Q because she likes to play with Q-tips - is a very good girl. I've had her for a couple of months now and, while she's not the type of cat that wants to sit in my lap, she shows her affection in other ways. She has 'blankies' on two sofas in two different rooms, and if I'm sitting in one room, she joins me on the blanket and I pet her and brush her and rub her fuzzy tummy. She follows me around the house in the morning and is always inquisitive about the bathtub! Morning is also a major play time...and it is a sincere joy of mine to watch her play! Q-tips are the latest passion, but she has many toys, including the sparkle ball and strawberry that Mary Ann sent home with us. I think she knows that they're from Mary Ann and that's why they're special to her. When she's playing, or when I pet her, she makes the tiniest little mews and meeps, almost as though her kitten voice never left. It is adorable!
Now that summer is in full swing, the windows are always open and that's what Tsu likes best of all- sitting in a window and watching all of the birds and squirrels and bunnies. She naps on an old sofa in the sunny porch when it's warm. She whips around here all the time, of course, making me laugh, which she does a lot. She loves her cat food (a little too much) and is very tidy in grooming as well as in matters of the litterbox.
I think that, as the next 6-12 months pass, I'm going to see her open up more and more. She's got it in her, she's just nervous about trusting people...but she's learning. It's a win-win for me and the little girl. I love her!