Followed by a Moonshadow

Moonshadow entered my life in the midst of a traumatic pandemic. I was lonely, and looking for my first furry friend as an adult. My family hadn't had a cat in three years, and after discussing with my dad, my mom and I finally convinced him to let a cat into our lives once again. So, I went looking for my cat. It wasn't easy. Cats were popular in these days of quarantine, and I wanted to find a cat that could spend years with me happily. A few weeks later, the rescue shelter called me and recommended a stout and tiny black cat with a white patch on her belly named Big Shadow. She follows the foster family around, like her namesake, and she was mother to three kittens. My witchy senses tingled and knew that this was my cat. The foster family was kind to discuss her demeanour with me, and next thing you know, I was picking her up to bring her home. From the first day, she was curious about her surroundings and eager to connect with me. We were soon fast friends. While I was researching how to adopt her, the song "Moonshadow" by Cat Stevens played, and I thought that would be the perfect name for her. She does follow me around like a Moonshadow. Staying at home from work also allowed me to forge a strong connection with her, and I soon became her chosen human.

The night she escaped from home was a terrible night for me. I was so worried about her, and I searched the streets at night all weekend for a black cat, with no moon to light my way. She finally came back on Monday morning, with her new boyfriend. Thankfully, the treats were more enticing than her new beau. Two months went by, and we welcomed two new lives into the world; Blaze and Ollie. These would be her last litter, and my mom fell in love with these kittens. Blaze was a black and white cat with his mom's green eyes, and the longest tail you've ever seen. He's the stockier and bigger of the two. Ollie is the little sweetheart, grey and white with green eyes, and my mom fell in love with the little fluff cloud. Moonshadow was an outstanding mom, and soon, Blaze went home to his new family; my coworker Chantale. As Ollie grew up and Moonshadow got spayed, life settled into normalcy.

We were called back to the office in July, and soon, we were again sent to work from home in January. This is where Moonshadow shined as a fellow employee! She woke me up every morning at 4am for food, making sure I was never late for work when she woke me up again at 8am. As I would grab my breakfast upstairs and return to my basement office, she would already be in her cat tree bed next to my desk, her big green eyes staring at me like glowing emeralds, almost saying, "You're late, time for work!". She stayed with me throughout my shift, and often curled into my lap when I had Teams meetings and phone calls with customers. Even on weekends and days off, she would still wake me up early and trot to my desk, while looking back at me expectantly. I'd have to explain to her while cuddling her that today, we do not work. She enchanted my team with her meows as we were having our meetings. It's a shame I didn't have a webcam, as I'm sure they would have loved to see her. In either case, we held a cutest pet contest on our Whatsapp chat, and her cute little face won the hearts of everyone. She also always knew to give her best cuddles on my 15 minute breaks and lunch break. I would be on my bed, and she would come find me and she'd flop against my side or on my chest and purr like an engine. When my break was over, it was hard to nudge her away from me, as she'd give little chirps of complaint. But she'd always join me back at my desk until my shift was over.

It was soon time to say goodbye to my team as I was moving from Ottawa to Halifax to start school, and Moonshadow was coming with me. We are now settled comfortably in our first apartment, and I am sure that when I will be sewing my homework, she'll be right there trying to tear away at my seams and pressing on my foot pedal when it's too late to sew. It's almost like she suggests I need to sleep. A layer of cat hair on my sewing projects will definitely be her artist's signature, but I will make sure to hand in clean projects.

Moonshadow would be considered Empawyee of the month, since she always knew when I needed a break from work, gives the best lunchtime cuddles, and she was diligent in her presence around the office. She was always present and at attention for meetings and phone calls, and occasionally said hi to my clients as I would speak with them on the phone, instantly melting away their troubles and having them focus on how great it is to have a pet. She's the bright little ray of moonlight in my life.