I never wanted a cat. My husband never wanted a cat. But when Milo made it clear that he wanted to adopt Callisto, it was hard to deny him the opportunity to have a pet. I justified getting my dog a cat by saying that it'd be good for any future puppies I might get to grow up with a cat. I told people that it'd be handy to have a cat to kill mice now that we lived out in the country. It turns out; however, that cats are a lot of fun.

Callisto started life as a stray cat. Her early life is a bit of a mystery, but Nicole "the Elf" (aka "Evil Nicole"), taught Callisto that people have food that they are willing to share. Callisto is no fool, and quickly ingratiated herself at Loving Touch Animal Center, where she became a Clinic Cat and started living what she thought at the time was the good life. It was here that Milo met Callisto, and started asking if he could have a cat of his very own. I told him he couldn't have a cat, but he enjoyed his visits with Callisto at the clinic. Then fate intervened in the form of Dr. Michelle.

Dr. Michelle asked if I could take a picture of a cat sitting on a dog, and I said that I could but that I'd need to bring a cat home so that I could train them. A few days later Callisto came for a visit. She stayed with us for 2 weeks, got her picture taken, and much to Milo's great dismay, I took Callisto back to Loving Touch Animal Center. What I didn't realize is that Callisto, having seen what life in a house is like -- training time, people, no other cats, new places to explore -- had decided that she wanted to live in a house. Callisto was not happy to go back to the clinic. She set about trashing the place to make sure that everyone knew she wasn't happy. When she marched up to Dr. Michelle and threw a computer keyboard off of a desk, everyone realized that Callisto needed her own home. In the meantime, Milo continued to demonstrate that he adored Callisto at every opportunity. And so it was that Milo's wish to have a cat was granted, and Callisto got a family of her very own.

Callisto is clicker trained. She knows how to sit, to target, to climb onto Milo's back, to heel, and to come when called. She picks up new behaviors with remarkable speed, and she adores her training sessions.

When Callisto isn't lounging in the house, playing with the dogs, or snuggling up to a person, she is generally out hunting on her 3 acre property. She is an accomplished killer, and has brought home and consumed many voles and birds, as well as a squirrel, chipmunk, and several lizards.