Erin is one of our lobby kitties. She’ll often be near-hysterical for attention in the mornings, scrabbling her front paws on our legs until one of us picks her up and holds her over one shoulder, where she’ll rub her muzzle on you, purring, unless she decides she needs to climb onto your back. It can be very difficult to induce her to jump down; sometimes it’s easier to hand her off to someone else. It’s very funny to watch an “Erin transfer” between staffers or volunteers when someone is on a time-sensitive errand. She’s affectionate at other times during the day, too, but there are also times when she doesn’t want attention and will walk away from you, not uncommon in an older cat. She has been known to nip or swat on occasion, so we recommend she go to a home without small children.

Erin is about eleven, we estimate. She’s got a plume of a tabby tail, and brown tabby markings over her head/ears and on her back. She has tufts on her ears, too, giving her a more exotic look. The rest of her coat, which seems almost a cross between short hair and medium length fur, is white.

We’ve recently discovered that Erin has an illness somewhere between severe Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and lymphoma. She’s doing very well right now, but that could change at any time. Obviously, between this condition and the fact that she’s an older cat, her chances of finding a home are greatly lessened. But Erin is a great example of the Tabby’s Place mission, and we love her eccentric nature and beautiful markings. Stop in to meet her (and our other cats) sometime.

Update: Erin has just been diagnosed with mammary cancer. It appears that the mammary tumor was completely removed and she will be starting chemo, so her prognosis is good. Erin seems to be recovering well from her surgery and has resumed her regular duties as lobby shoulder climber and lead wet food mooch.