" Ethel "
March 10 1986 ---- Sept. 28 1998
Russian Blue - Cat
Here Lies Ethel-the-Rectory-Cat
Beloved Companion of Dr. Anne Bathurst Gilson
and the Rev. Dr. Judith A. Davis
Ethel Cat was born in Medford Massachusetts on
March 10th 1986 to a very young mother
(whose people didn't know cats could get pregnant so young!).
She was originally named "Mia" by those naive people.
When she came to live with me at the age of six weeks
(along with her cousin "Lucy" who came from the same household)
I changed her name to Ethel. She had a brother who looked
just like her named "Leo." As a kitten she tried to nurse on a
huge friendly dog named Teraph.
Ethel was a cosmopolitan cat. She lived in Cambridge Massachusetts;
New York City; Somerville Massachusetts; Bristol Rhode Island;
and Washington D.C.
Ethel was the very definition of feisty. She loved to peer down
on her royal subjects from high perches.
If I was going somewhere and she wanted to come along,
she would jump from the floor to my shoulders in one fell swoop.
This sometimes startled house-guests who were less than thrilled
with this feat. She knew no fear. She would go nose-to-nose with the
biggest dog. She didn't know she only weighed five pounds.
Ethel was the boss. No I mean really the boss. She was the Ruler
of the Universe. To her dying day if one of the other cats offended her,
she would whomp them on the head. Ethel loved to go on field trips —
whether it was to Block Island where she would sleep on the
altar in the chapel — or whether it was over to the church office
to get the mail. Once she escaped from the Rectory and was
found sound asleep in the Sacristy sink. The following Sunday
in the middle of celebrating the Eucharist Judith looked
down and found grey Ethel hairs on the altar linens.
She was fond of other animals. At Union Theological Seminary
in New York City she had a boyfriend named "Monkey."
Monkey was head over heels in love with her. She would go over
to his house to visit — he would coo at her. She would play
with his toys use his litter box and then eat his food.
Then she would go home. Monkey occasionally escaped from his
apartment and would appear at Ethel's door whining piteously outside.
Ethel once disappeared from my apartment in Cambridge.
We looked everywhere. We thought she had accidentally gone outside.
We put up signs all over the place. Hours later I went home sat down
at the desk and opened the desk drawer. There was Ethel.
She'd made herself a nest.
Ethel loved to go outside — riding on my shoulders — to inspect
the garden in Washington. Each day she demanded to be taken
out to inspect the work the minions had done — or not done.
Ethel also inspected everyone I went out with.
Not many passed inspection. She was always very possessive of me.
In her last years she made sure she slept between us.
Ethel's favorite foods were buckwheat pancakes chicken,
ice cream and corn-on-the-cob.
Ethel had two favorite songs. The first was "Hickory Dickory Dock."
The second goes like this: "Oh I love little Ethel her coat is so warm.
If I sit still and hold her she'll do me no harm. So I'll sit by the fire and
give her some food. And Ethel-Cat will love me because I am good."
She never minded having flea baths. She always held out her paws
to have her nails trimmed. Until a week or so before her death
she was always very patient about taking medicine.
She suffered throughout her life with Inflamed Bowel Disease.
She died of sinus cancer peacefully while laying on my lap.
Ethel is survived by four other Rectory cats over
whom she had charge: Brattle Oops Casco and Idgie.
It remains to be seen who will take over as Top Cat.
Ethel was a very unique cat with more personality than any
fur person I have ever known. We will miss her dreadfully.
But our hearts are warmed and our lives enriched by
knowing this particular creature of God's.
| Ethel (Rectory Cat) |