Narcissus was found in a garage in Catlet as a very tiny, dust-covered kitten. We thought she was a boy and she loved my mirror and as a high schooler reading Greek mythology, that’s how she got her name. Narcissus came to me in a difficult time in my life, but it became our life and that’s all I needed. She moved a million times with me, she shared my bed, begrudgingly became an older sister when my mom brought me Cybele, they cuddled even when they pretended not to get along. We called her grumpy old man, fish, tiny, spooky, baby, baby doll, little one, Nar Nar, cheeks, baby daby, and so many things. She was my world, she is my world.
She loves catnip and bunny kicking toys, she loves McDonald’s French fries with no salt and she always got one when she was good at the vet even though she hated the vet. She loves sour cream and Alfredo and cheese and lunch meat and all sorts of things cats can’t have, but sometimes she got them anyways. She loves the heated blanket, heating pads, the warm internet router, hunting cricket spiders, chirping instead of meowing, eating tons of grass, and cuddles. She would force her way into my lap when she felt the need to be there, climb my back if she couldn’t, scale my lap and cling on until I’d get comfortable for her and she would smush her face into my legs.
She got old and scraggly, smaller and fluffier, she never stopped being silly and loving though. To be loved is to be changed, and she changed, and she changed me. She matters so much to me, she will always matter, she will always be here, I hope others will remember her with me. Her memory will be a blessing as I keep learning and use her love to take better care of her faux siblings Cybele and Gambit, as I open my heart again to another cat in the future. But she will always be my baby. I love you Narcissus, forever.