September 18, 1997 — May 2, 2015

Xena was my aunt and cousin’s cat. After my aunt passed away in March of 2010, no one was willing to take in Xena, so Chrystal and I did with the intention of finding her a new home. Xena was not socialized with animals and we had a dog and a cat already.
She lived under our couch for the first few months. She was afraid of everyone and we never really saw her except when we tossed treats under for her. She would not come out to eat and we never saw her use the litter. It took us a while to figure out that she was using the dog bed as her litter box! (The dog was happy to get a new bed!)
She gradually came around and started to get used to us and the other animals, but she was still petrified of men. She chose me as her owner. We decided that she would stay with us.
Over the years that she was with us, she was spoiled rotten just like our other animals! She loved her catnip and laser pointer! Her favorite thing was to be brushed. You just needed to hold the brush and she would walk back and forth against it or she would just turn her head to where she wanted to be brushed.
We learned her favorite foods were not meant for cats. Apparently, she always ate what my aunt and cousin did. He absolute favorite was Taco Bell! She would try and take it from your mouth while you were eating. She also loved McDonald’s or Wendy’s hamburgers and french fries, tuna fish, Acme fried chicken, plain potato chips, butter, cheese (didn’t matter which kind), pork roll, bacon, ham, and lunch meat.
She remained afraid of men for a long time and would eat everything inedible in the house after a man/ boy was here. Our neighbor at the time was transgendered and he took care of our animals while we were away. He was devastated that it upset Xena when he entered the apartment. We told him to come as himself and when he did Xena jumped into his arms and let him pet her!
No one will ever forget her fangs and her personality. She was my climber and her favorite place to lay for a few years was on top of my kitchen cabinets! She also loved to be on the balcony, laying in the sun or trying to climb in the freezer!!!
She supervised my every move including putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. She woke me most mornings by running on the blinds.
Even when she was diagnosed with cancer 11 months ago, she was a fighter! She held on as the cyst grew on her leg. She adapted as necessary. She enjoyed her time in the sun. She napped with Roxy (dog). She looked out the window with Ollie (cat). She pushed Roxy out of the way to steal her food! She napped with us.
My best Christmas present ever was her laying on my lap for a few hours on Christmas day. That was the first time she ever did that!
She definitely lived up to name… Xena, Warrior Princess! She will be missed by all of us, but will forever be in our hearts!