Remembering the Shopcats…
Libraries have them. Turkish carpet shops have them. I have had them until quite recently. The supervisors, the comforters, the charmers…
Granada was a Snowshoe – a relatively new (since the 1960’s) and uncommon breed in the USA. He and his brother Toledo joined my household in August 2012, two weeks after Odin’s departure. Granada’s sapphire blue eyes stop traffic outside of my shop. He was the alpha male while Toledo was with us. Once he became the sole Shopcat, he played at being helpful, with a definite emphasis on play. Everything became his toy sooner or later. Granada left this mortal sphere around 3 AM on July 22, 2025, a few weeks short of his 14th birthday.
I am now a cat-free studio, with all of the advantages and sadness that brings…
Toledo was a Bombay, jet black except for a patch of white on his throat and belly, and whiskers which started to come in white on one side of his face. He and Granada were brothers, rescued from a field in Corvallis where they were dumped when they were about a year old. Toledo was my doorbell and protector, and had a fascination for scissors and rotary cutters. He was diagnosed with early stage renal failure in 2018, and took a downward turn in January 2022. After a series of valiant rallies, he breathed his last breath at 6:35 PM on March 4, 2022 with me and Granada at his side. The shop won’t be the same without his rampant curiosity.
Odin was my original ShopCat, a domestic longhair descended from the Norwegian Forest Cat. He was also rescued after his family moved and left him behind. An operation on his right ear severed the nerves and left it partially flopped, which earned him the nickname of “Pirate Kitty” in my old neighborhood. For six months after that operation, he could not close his right eye, hence the name of Odin. He was my defender and companion through some pretty tough times. He crossed the Rainbow Bridge in August 2012, age 12.
This last photo is everyone’s favorite – the night I opened my first Mac laptop. Odin was pretty entranced with the new tech. The photo also showed that our eye color matched…
