News Reel - Condo Pet: Born in barn, cat goes uptown

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Condo Pet: Born in barn, cat goes uptown

Brandy was born in a barn and still loves to play with mice. The fluffy charcoal grey cat likes to line them up in the foyer of the condo while she waits for her owner, Frances Greenwood, to return from her job as an associate investment adviser at Blackmont Capital Inc.



Luckily, the row of rodents only look real (to an imaginative kitty). It's all part of a daily ritual, it seems, for Brandy who has a distinctive, fun-loving personality and likes to wait in the kitchen, lolling on her back and purring, after Greenwood goes into the kitchen to say hello.



"She is an imp,'' says Greenwood, who loves her company and the distraction Brandy provides, especially since her husband passed away in May, 2004.



"Brandy is extremely affectionate and has filled my life with laughter, especially when I thought there was nothing that would ever make me laugh again,'' says Greenwood. "She is such a lady and very, very meticulous and particular ... much like her owner.''



Six-year-old Brandy has plenty of room to exercise in the spacious midtown condo, which has two bedrooms and two sunrooms. Although she is alone during the day, she doesn't appear to get lonely. That may be because she "thinks that her reflection in the mirrored bedroom closet doors is a friend and spends long stretches of time purring at the image,'' says Greenwood. "She also adores any of my shoes.''



When her owner is at home, Brandy expects attention and sometimes gets "very jealous when I talk on the phone and has, on many occasions, pulled the receiver from my hand. So a cellphone comes in handy.''



When Brandy was young, Greenwood would put her on top of the entertainment unit so she could look at her face and say "give me a kiss."



"So now when she wants something she will either jump on the kitchen counter or onto the bed and give me a kiss,'' she says.



A work friend had told Greenwood about a farm cat's kittens who were about six weeks old and available for adoption. When Greenwood said she was interested, her friend's son picked up Brandy and delivered her.



"The reason I adopted her was that at the time my husband was very ill and his Siamese cat, Bambi, was ill as well and I wanted to make sure that when he was at home, he would always have the company of a pet and he loved cats,'' Greenwood said. Bambi died a year after her husband.



"Thank goodness I had my sweet Brandy,'' she says, for comfort and company.



When they are alone in the condo, the petite seven-pound cat who loves hummus, smoked salmon cream cheese and "any French cheese'' purrs constantly.



At bedtime, Brandy has another ritual. She collects her favourite toy mouse – Greenwood calls him Irving – "and brings him to bed every night.'