My relationship with Uma was fortuitous. I always loved cats, but my previous attempt at taking care of one myself ended after less than a month and some deep scratches and bites. I tried re-adopting the Evil Cat again, only to be told that my dad chose to keep her. That cat found a better home and I found quick healing solutions, after I had moved into pet-friendly housing.
When my sketchy neighbors told me they adopted two kittens from the side of the road, I was a little leery. Their other cat was mangy, friendly, and with a clinically broken tail. Though I've always been an advocate for the less fortunate, I wasn't really an advocate for adopting pets from them. Then I met Uma and Oprah.
They were teeny tiny and more than a handful of trouble. Uma shed more than any cat I've ever seen, plus she threw up more than once a week on average. She was aloof to everyone other than men who were allergic to her and women who despised cats. To me, she was my sheep. She followed me around and wouldn't let me sit down peacefully before jumping into my lap. She was much more loving and attentive than her sister (if only to me and my mom, who wasn't a fan of hers), and because of her social issues with other people, she became my only cat in Portland as I adjusted.
Since then, she's been in three different houses with different animals. I've been blessed that the last house she lived was one in which she found her best friend, Arlo, and a new human friend, Jude. I'm not sure how she contracted the evil that is feline leukemia, but I can't blame anyone, especially myself.
What is important is that Uma lived a full, happy life with a person who loved her and who she loved in return. I'm going to miss her excessive shedding, her excessive yet timely vomiting, her judgment of people, her unending loyalty, her helpful lap sessions whenever I was reading, and her species-free friendship. Uma, you can never be replaced or forgotten.
Here is a blog I wrote about Uma several years ago: http://bitter-britter.blogspot.com/2006/05/im-little-too-obsessed-with-my-cats.html
