Vassilissa

[aceofkittens]

RIP, Vassilissa
5/18/1994-5/22/2008

My mom had to have Vassilissa put to sleep this morning. The cancer in her mouth was out of control. She was bleeding and in discomfort. To say that my mom is devastated would be putting it mildly. It breaks my heart that I couldn't be there for her today in person.

We had Vassilissa (and her brother, Peter), literally, from the cradle to the grave. Those kittens were born in our basement room to a feral cat, Polosatka. A week after they were born, Polosatka moved them outside. She left Vassilissa and after a few hours of the kitten crying piteously, my mom took her and dropper-fed her and never let her go. Some time later, Polosatka did bring the other kittens back, and we kept Peter also. But Vassilissa was always my mom's "baby."

It's hard to believe, but Vassilissa used to be a loving, though skittish, cat. She used to sleep on my pillow and cuddle up on people's laps. She was fiendishly clever, with a cunning, Machiavellian intelligence. If she'd had thumbs, she would have taken over the world. I used to joke that Vassilissa was the evil mastermind, and Peter was her slightly bumbling, but ultimately lovable henchman. It didn't matter — I loved them both so much. They were both so beautiful and stripey. Incidentally, my mom named her that because "Vassilissa the Beautiful" is my favorite Russian folktale. The first website I ever built was for Vassilissa. It had all kinds of cute pictures and links ("Vassi-lynx"). Unfortunately, it was on geocities and got deleted a few years ago when I didn't log in for a few months.

Vassilissa's temperament changed — for the worse — as she got older. She wasn't so cuddly anymore and she was awful to Peter. After we got the other two cats, Vassilissa never forgave me. Somehow, she knew I was responsible. Boy, that cat could carry a grudge. She peed on my stuff repeatedly. She abused the other cats. She peed in my bed. She peed on my DVDs. She got more and more crotchety. But, throughout all this, she loved my mom with a bright, fierce intensity. And oh, how that love was reciprocated. They really were Soulmates.

Peter has been gone since 2004. So many things are gone now, forever and indelibly, with Vassilissa's passing. It's hard to explain, and maybe I don't want to. I just want to say: Sleep well, cranky girl. I will miss you so much, my beautiful, wise Vassilissa.