Babushka, aka Old Lady (Russian)

In another life back in Dallas, Babushka used to be known as Maui. She was one of the three cats along with a dog that my cousin, Clay Koonce, cared for. Sadly, Clay passed away in May 2006 due to heat stroke that he suffered from the Texas sun and heat. Clay was only a month younger than me, and had finally just started to put his life back together after a bad divorce and leaving a verbally abusive boss. His dog and truly best friend, Wendel, went to a close friend of his who also took in Clay's fat (and mean) cat. Clay's ex-wife took the neurotic and skittish cat to be with her new husband, like two peas in a pod. I had the fortune to take in Maui, who was the calmest and quietest of the three cats.

We renamed Maui to Babushka after taking her back to New York. The reason for the name change was Maui's mood when she arrived in New York. The cat was in a severe state of depression, and was constantly cleaning herself. Lia commented that she "looked like an old lady" whenever she stared at us. I responded jokingly "like a little babushka (Russian for old lady)," and the name just stuck from that point forward. Since that time, Babushka has adjusted well to living with us. She is a completely indoor cat, which makes life much easier.

Once, Babushka did try to get out by running between my legs when I was returning home from work. She went into the alcove in front of my front door, looked around, and then turned around and tried to go back inside. Since then, she will only glance outside, but has not made any further attempts to "explore the outside." Even the cries of the stray cat behind out house do not cause much reaction in her.