Stormy's story

I used to consider myself a dog person, until my daughter brought home Stormy. Of course Stormy was a cute kitten, but she grew up into the the epitome of cool. Clint Eastwood had nothing on her.

Stormy was always an outdoor cat, who lived in our garage. I am slightly allergic to cats, especially when I visited my in-laws who kept several cats in their house. The accumulation of cat dander in an enclosed space really gets my allergies, so I could never keep a cat in my home. But that was ok, because I think Stormy preferred the outdoor life. She could come and go as she pleased. 

Then my daughter brought home Brownie as a kitten. However, Stormy let Brownie know who was boss, in no uncertain terms. I still remember Stormy chasing Brownie out of the garage the first time we put them together. Brownie was a slobbering coward for the rest of his life, although he and Stormy got along after that.

Stormy was an awesome hunter, killing mice, rabbits, birds, and occasional insects.

Surprisingly, she did seem to like me. While she might occasionally object to my kids or my wife holding her, she never rejected me. I suspect she knew I respected her, and she returned the affection. I didn't often pick her up to pet, but she accepted it from me. I was never a cat person, but I was a Stormy person.

There was one time Stormy was sunning herself on the driveway (not unlike the picture above), when a neighbor's Golden Retriever saw her, and began running at her from a yard away, barking his head off like he was attacking a bear or some other fearsome beast. Just as he arrives with a yard of Stormy, she lifts her head up from her prone position, and just stairs at him. He stops and looks back at her. This goes on for only a few seconds (although it did feel longer), until the Retriever turns around and runs back to his yard. Then Stormy lays her head back down and resumes sunning herself, completely oblivious to the fact she just stared down a beast easily five times her own size. In my book, THAT is the definition of cool.

Sadly, Stormy was hit by a car some time later. But she is forever in my memory. RIP Stormy. You were the coolest ever.