What? My name is... Who? My name is... Slim Shady!

She is laying here squawking at me to make sure everyone knows her name really isn't "Squawker". It's Shady. Squawker is the nickname myself and her Daddy have given her because she doesn't meow like other cats. She squawks. She squawks a lot. If I ever figure out how to add audio to this blog, I'll put her on here so you can hear for yourself. It's quite unique. She also has this patented move called the "Tuck and Roll". When she is excited and squawking at us, she will drop her front end down and roll her head onto the floor (or what ever surface she is on). Sometimes it's the "Triple Sow Cow Tuck and Roll" where she does three of them right in a row with a highly skilled and coordinated effort.

And notice those paws? They are quite something! She has two extra toes on each of her front paws. They are fully functional, claws and all, and she uses them to her advantage. She can whap her brother a good one, and I highly suspect that they were used as threats against the Big Bad Doggy Sister during a recent encounter.

Shady was not the name I picked for her. Her previous owners named her this when she was born in February of 1999. I didn't get her until August 2003, when someone at work had an acquaintance who was moving and couldn't take her with them. If you ask me, these prior owners were not true animal parents. I'd live in my car before moving to a place that wouldn't allow her. But that worked out much to my advantage.

When I told my mom about her (also another cat nut, I guess the apples never fall far from the tree) the first thing she said was, "Did they name her after Eminem?" I still laugh at this... because who would make that connection? Ironically, Shady was born the same month and year that Eminem made his debut. But there was no connection. She was simply named after her grey blue coat.