Tiena...

There are probably going to be a lot of posts like this because, I am cleaning like crazy so, I am finding all kinds of things. This is my cat Tiena who came to me from some people I knew when I was young. I thought of them as cousins but, I think they were just friends of the family. They all had white hair and I think they were all girls. Very girly girls! Originally, I was going to get a cat from the humane society as a birthday present. Back then the humane society would not give you a cat if any one in the house hold was allergic. This is kind of a depressing story. Any way, I picked out a little fluffy orange kitten. But, wound up with hives all over my face. So, we had to leave with no kitten. Strangely, I don't remember being allergic to cats before then. I think maybe I had had allergies my whole life but, no-one knew where they came from. My cousins felt bad so, they mentioned their cat Squirt. I hope that little orange cat had a decent life some where. We brought Squirt home and named her Tiena.Tiena lived to be 19 years old. She was soft as a bunny rabbit. When I got her she was a maniac and no-one could catch her or pet her. I managed to tame her after a lot of effort also, I sort of grew out of my allergies in the process. I think eventually she let other people pet her but, really only would sit on my lap. She ran a way during one of the coldest Michigan winters and came back 6 months later a giant puff ball of fur with skin and bones underneath. When I lived in New Orleans she hung out with all the stray cats and occasionally invited them in! She had free reign going in and out because, it was not possible to keep her inside. She would dive out the top of a window. She died as I said of natural causes when she was about 19. Tiena was one cool cat! Any way, this picture is in oil pastel and I think I made it when I was 11 years old.