being an aunt

my brother's cat, ana, had been living with me for the past three months. that's her, poking her head out from one of the bedroom windows. she liked to go out onto the ledge and look at the pigeons flying by. she also liked to sleep on my bed with me, and wake me up at 5:30a.m. to feed her. she liked to pretend i didn't already feed her when i woke up a second time (for real) at 7a.m. she liked to shed her hair everywhere and she liked to leave the little pebbles of kitty litter that got stuck to her paws all over my apt.

as much as i bitched and complained about her at first, eventually i liked all the things that she liked. or at least, i became accustomed to those things, and liked her, specifically, as a pet. something about us both being female made our living situation work well. she seemed almost to feel more comfortable in my home than in her own with gaspar, my brother. but yesterday he returned from being away and took her back to his house. she whimpered as he put her in her carrying case. and because i'm her aunt (thus being a woman) - i whimpered on the inside too.