Olyvia

About a year and a half ago, I visited Butte Humane Society. As I walked past the cages of kittens, one little girl insisted I come see her. She stood up on her hind legs and looked directly into my eyes. Her tag read "Alice," but she told me her name was Olyvia as she climbed onto my shoulder for a nap. I had been waiting for that special connection with an animal before deciding to adopt, and it seemed she had also been waiting - for me.

In a few days Olyvia came home to a life full of adventure and love. We, as a very active family that spends free time outside as a rule, found that she was a perfect fit. Within a week of her adoption, we left on a three-month road trip to Alaska. Olyvia easily took to her harness and leash, napping on the dashboard or on our laps in between rest stops and playtime. We spent long hours hiking and camping in remote places. Following easily in the footsteps of our sweet black lab, whose name is Cascade, Olyvia hiked along with us. A chatty, agile thing, she made us laugh and brightened the days of countless strangers we met on the trails - who had to stop and investigate the apparition of a kitten riding on the top of a backpack or trotting down the trail in her harness.

We came back from Alaska and have never stopped going on adventures with her. Whether it involves water, snow, or sun, we know Olyvia is game. As she has gotten older, her grey coat has brightened into a beautiful, shiny silver and softened into silk. Not only is she the most adventurous cat we know, she is the prettiest and sweetest imaginable. She expresses her adoration in lots of ways . . . with a purposefully placed kiss on your eyelid, with a firm but gentle grip of your nose or jaw in her mouth, or with the almost human way she looks deeply in your eyes. It's the same way she looked at me when I first met her.