The very first day of summer vacation in 2007, I decided we needed a kitten to liven up the place. Tintin and Matty were in their middle age, and I felt like a kitten could keep them active.

The guys and I swung by PetSmart in East Greenbush, where we found a little gray kitten. I’d never had a gray one, so I decided she was the one. As luck would have it, the young guys fell for her sister, a little black kitten who would be called Mindy (short for Midnight).

This little gray kitten was a whirlwind of gray fluff. She ran around like a tornado. We called her Twister. Twister was into, and out of everything…including, but not limited to the cold air return vent whilst I was painting. Sigh. There wasn’t a thing that went on in our house that Twister didn’t find fascinating.

One day, not too long after she came to live with us, it became apparent Twister would need to be upgraded to a hurricane. Eight year old Phillip said, “Let’s call her Katrina!” Katrina was a perfect name for that curious, destructive little shit.

As usually happens, those feisty kittens do turn into fabulous cats! Katrina the Helper Cat…whenever there was work to be done, she was there. Katrina the Rally Cat during the 2016 World Series, wearing her rally towel in support of the Cleveland Indians. When anyone came to the house for repairs, or installations, she always offered a helpful paw.

Katrina died early this morning, with her humans by her side. She leaves behind Deezle, Boone, and her nemesis Jeff. They all came to see her one at a time after she passed.

We’ll see where this takes us…