We were adopted by Gremmie when she was a 1 1/2 year old svelte orange and white tabby. Each Wednesday when I would volunteer at the local animal shelter, I would play with and socialize the kittens, and walk the dogs. As I walked into the cat area, Gremmie (nickname for Gremlin, which she is not), would peek out from a corner, hop onto my shoulder and proceed to lick me incessantly.
Her background of coming from a "neglect case", did not really match her sweet, loving personality . But she had that spark in her that continued to try again for a warm, loving home. I had been volunteering at the animal shelter for several months. But Gremmie's persistent showering of affection was beginning to win me over.
I told the rest of my family about this orange mush of a cat and my son decided to come to the shelter with me one morning. Gremmie decided she would try to win over my son as well. She peeked out from behind a cage and hopped on his shoulder and proceeded to lick him as well. That was the defining moment. We called my husband and told him we were bringing home another cat.
My daughter had Shammi, a beautiful, but snooty, white and orange cat, which she had adopted from a different animal shelter a couple of years before. Gremmie won over Shammi with her persistent affectionate nature as well.
Gremmie will soon be 9 years old. She is no longer, the svelte orange tabby with white chest and paws, but has morphed into a rotund lovable pumpkin of a cat who continues to enrich our family's life with licking and lap warming. How she has gained so much weight, while on a "lite diet" is a mystery. But there is more of her to cuddle with.