Surely was either born in a Brooklyn parking lot in June 1995 or abandoned there not long after. My friend Rebecca found her and took her in for a brief residency before sending her on to me in Boston. She arrived as an 8-month-old perpetual motion machine and was instantly adopted by my First Cat, Oreo, who considered her his own personal ward. They spent three happy years grooming each other, wrestling, and napping together with her head on his belly.
With Oreo's passing, Surely was promoted from Auxiliary Cat to Main Cat. Although she takes her increased duties quite seriously, she's not ready for management responsibilities, so I am not yet accepting applications for a new Auxiliary Cat. I note, however, that it's always best not to be caught without a spare.
Oreo, First Cat and Main Cat emeritus, was with me for more than ten years before his warranty finally ran out on May 14, 1999, at about 6:15 p.m.
I adopted Oreo from the animal shelter in Laconia, New Hampshire, on the day after Thanksgiving 1988, one day before he was scheduled to be put to sleep. He was already full-grown, but I don't know how old he was.
He accompanied me through five moves, a career change, several romances and a dozen roommates. He knew his name and came when called. He slept at my feet for almost 4,000 nights. He liked chickpeas and paper bags and little wads of tinfoil, and he would do almost anything for roast chicken. His favorite place was wherever I was.
He was the best cat in the world. I miss him.
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