Four years ago I arrived in Florida from Maryland with two precious kitties. Sadly, six weeks later, one of them died of cancer. A few weeks later I headed to the Suncoast Humane Society to find a pal for my remaining kitty, Miranda. I had in my head that a long-haired calico was the perfect cat for me, but I left with a short-haired part Siamese named Belle. She was all of two pounds and had the most stunning blue eyes!

I renamed her Abbie for Abigail Adams who was the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States. When I was young, I used to visit my grandparents in S. Weymouth, Massachusetts. Just down the hill on North St. was a house that was built in 1685, where Abigail Smith was born eighty years later. Grandpa and I would walk past it on the way to the barber shop where my partially bald grandfather would get his (one) hair cut. He loved a silly joke as much as he loved sharing his love of history with his five year only granddaughter.

For me, Abbie's new name was both familiar and comforting. I am not sure if she resembled her namesake in personality, but I am certain that she is the strangest cat that has ever owned me. If she sees that I am not wearing my glasses, she makes a beeline for me and hovers over my eyes, nibbling on my eyebrows and eyelashes. She loves an empty stainless sink and digs ninety mph like her goal is to land in another country, and at night, if the light hits her blue eyes just right, they glow red revealing her slightly devilish personality. Abbie is quite a character and I love her with all my heart.