Inanna

The whole household was very upset when Bast died, and we decided to get another cat as soon as possible, so Cu would have company. Fortunately, a friend of Ken's had just discovered a neighborhood stray and her new kittens in the garage, and we claimed one of the girls. Three months later, we collected a double handful of calico intrepidness and named her Inanna for her fearless and outgoing manner.

Inanna's kittenhood was a fine example of instant karma. Now it was Cu who had to deal with a bouncing kitten who wanted to play while he only wanted to nap. Nor was he the only one. Inanna soon conquered most of the local cats by the simple expedient of playing little-sister-tagging-along. There were a lot of older cats going around with harassed expressions that year.

She grew up sleek and solid, though, following the family tradition of being a big cat. She is also an accomplished climber, though not always thanks to her claws. Since our fences are chain link with wood lattices tied over them, she often climbs them paw over paw, hooking her arms into the holes. She is our most accomplished hunter yet, and has caught robins and starlings over half her size. Which she then, of course, brings inside to play with. It's shaping up to be another family tradition.

Inanna is more laid back, in general, than either Bast or Cu, and didn't even learn to swear until she was three. But this is counterbalanced by her wild moods, when she will crouch, wide eyed and with tail lashing, on the far side of the stairway rails and viciously attack any trailing bathrobe belts that go by. In more mellow moods, she will sprawl in the middle of a room and make languid attempts to catch passing feet.

Inanna is definitely the household Queen.