Maggie apparently had a tumor growing inside her. Rob had to take her to the vet today. She was a really beautiful cat person with a gorgeous face and a great personality. She saved me from a large spider within days of my inheriting her. I shall never forget the sight of her prancing out of the bedroom, since I'd shrieked when I saw the spider and fled to the living room, with four legs sticking out each side of her mouth. I had to choke down my terror to praise her, for lord knows, I wanted her to do that again if necessary.

I guess she lived a very long, eventful life for a cat. She was around 8 years old when I got her back in 1996; previously, she'd lived on a farm in Iowa as a barn cat and moved with her owner to Seattle. One day, her old owner's downstairs neighbor brought Maggie home after Maggie tumbled off her own balcony to the one below. She occasionally disliked my or Melani's suitors and her assessment was always accurate. If Maggie hissed at any of them, we knew there was something wrong with them. She liked Rob, though, even though he specialized in teasing her by leaning toward the back door so that she'd start walking that way, then he'd sprint past her to the spot she'd relinquished on the couch. She learned to watch his movements carefully and if he leaned, she'd lean too. It was funny to watch them, like a snake charmer and a cobra, leaning toward the door then toward the couch.

I'll miss her :(