Ethyl the Cat

Ethyl Anne is the dignified, tail thumping feline that rules the office.

She came from humble beginnings in a barn off of Elliot Road about June 2006, born to a feral queen. But she had the good sense to make friends with Miss Janice who fed the feral cats. When she could be caught, she was presented to our hospital for adoption.

She was crazy cute, and everyone fell in love with Ethyl. She was named by the staff, but a receptionist said that she was so distinguished that she must have a middle name too. And Ethyl Anne was named.

Ethyl Anne follows a tradition of “special” cats at the front desk. JW was the first cat who set the standard for greeting clients. JW would watch for clients walking up to the door and would run and jump to the desk to be the greeter. Then there was Tsunami, named because he was clumsy and cleared the desk with each of his moves. Once he was rolling around at the desk and fell right on top of a client. Sorry Miss Pat.

Tradition established that cats would spend time learning “the ropes” in the back before being allowed at the desk. Ethyl Anne shattered that glass ceiling. By the time she was six months old, she knew she was destined to be the front desk cat. She dethroned Tsunami, who failed to protest. He succumbed to her queenly demeanor and resigned himself to a place in the back.

Ethyl Anne proved to be an immediate success as client greeter as if she had been trained by the spirit of JW. Her favorite people are men and dogs. Her special man is our computer technician. He can hardly work because Ethyl Anne is all over him. And she frequently jumps down from the counter to greet a dog and then crawl up in the owner’s lap.

Ethyl Anne was almost “cat napped” on two occasions. She thought she was having a big adventure. Fortunately we got her back.

There are limits to Ethyl’s tolerance. She avoids exam tables because she knows what happens there. She loves hide and seek. And she has nothing good to say to feline patients.

As Ethyl has aged, she has increased in wisdom. She transmits her thoughts with her piercing gaze. It was just fitting that we gave Ethyl her voice this year on Facebook. “ Ethyl exasperates” appears weekly. She deems herself photogenic and demands a new photo be posted every week.

This bio was Ethyl Anne approved.