Oz: The stray kitten who crawled up a tree and into our hearts

One evening while walking our dogs, my friend and I heard panicked meowing at the park entrance.

Following the sound, I found a kitten stuck up a large oak tree. Since it was huddled on a branch too high for us to reach, we decided to finish our walk and hope the kitten would find its way down. But when we got back to the tree, it was still there, crying.

Ten-year-old me would have already climbed the tree, but nearly 50-year-old me knew climbing wasn’t an option. And as I stood there wondering how I could help the kitten, my friend said he had an idea — and came back carrying a large plastic garbage can from the bed of his truck. 

That was cool. Because he put the can upside down under the tree and climbed on top of it. Even cooler? When the can still didn’t get him close enough to reach the kitten, my friend stood on it for at least another 10 minutes, cooing and calling until finally, when we were just about to give up, the kitten moved down the branch toward him so he could grab it... and hand me the softest bundle of fur I have ever felt — fur that began purring immediately as I held it to my chest; fur that I never wanted to let go.

But while later I learned that the kitten had been stuck up the tree for at least two days, that night we decided the best thing to do was to let him go and see if he went home. So I put the kitten on the ground, he scurried off, and we left the park.

Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about the kitten I held. More importantly, I couldn’t imagine telling my husband that we pulled a kitten out of a tree, then just let him go. So, after stopping at the store, I went back to the park to see if the kitten was still there.

When I returned to the tree it was dark outside, so I got out my phone as a light and called to the kitten. Almost immediately he came running out of the darkness toward me, and I picked him up again. Only this time I tucked him under my sweatshirt and took him home.

“Whaaaaa?” said my husband as he opened the door to a kitten in my hands, his face fighting off sympathy for the tiny creature. Because while I assured him the kitten was only staying the night, he knew that once it came through the doorway, we would fall in love.

And of course he was right. Because within an hour I had already given him a name.

But first I fed him, then gave him a bath after finding he was covered in fleas. Then while watching him slowly begin to strut around our house I began calling him Oz, because he reminded me of the werewolf character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, another tiny-yet-tough guy.

Still, we tried to resist getting another animal. And once we were sure he didn’t already have a family, we decided it was best to take the kitten to the animal shelter so they could find him one.

But on the day I was supposed to take him to the shelter, I couldn’t. Because by then, Oz had begun playing with the dog. And watching that tiny orange cat play with our big black dog not only gave me joy, I knew that finally having a live-in playmate was giving the dog much joy as well.

Oz playing with Ripley.

So when my husband called me on his lunch break to ask if I had already taken the kitten to the shelter, I started to cry.

“No — 

"Thank god,” he said. “I was calling to tell you not to!”

“OK,” I said, smiling.

He sighed. Then, because our ninth wedding anniversary was that weekend, said: “Well, happy anniversary!”

So, for our ninth anniversary, we gifted ourselves a fluffy mound of moxie. And since one of the traditional gifts for that year is willow wood, it seems appropriate that he was plucked from a tree. (Also, if I am allowed to go full-on Buffy nerd for a moment: the love interest for Oz on that show is a witch named Willow!)

It was six years ago this month that we adopted Oz, and he still brings me joy every day. Sadly, he no longer plays with the dog, but he still makes me laugh all the time, especially when I find him sprawled on the bed with his feet in the air. And when I rub his belly, which still has the softest fur I’ve ever felt, his toes curl.

That is super cool.

My Grandmother's Journals: September, 1998

Age 12, recital at her orphanage in 1928

Welcome to the world of a frugal, persnickety and extremely independent woman in her 80s: Every day my grandmother wrote down when she woke, what she had for breakfast, any movie she went to see, any mail and calls she received, then what she read and watched on TV before bed.

 

In 1998, she turned 83 while living alone in a mobile home park in Santa Cruz, Calif. I never perceived her as lonely, though I never knew her to live with another person or even a pet after she raised my mother on her own in Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. (I wrote more about her life in this post.) 

She lived close to the famous surfing spot Pleasure Point, and nearly every day she walked to those cliffs to watch the ocean and anyone surfing it. 

When she died at 97 in 2013, I took her ashes to those waves with one of her friends, and we each dropped some ashes at the sand. A moment after I dropped mine, a surfer emerged from the water where I stood. 

That was cool. 

In September of 1998, my grandmother turned 83, was closely following the coverage of the Starr Report on then-president Bill Clinton (a man whose financial policies she liked because they helped her bank account grow), and preparing to take me to New York City with her.

 

August entries.

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998

Awake 7:30, tennis 8 a.m.

Graf won, many unforced errors in second set.

Drug Emporium: BP, TV Guide, trail mix.

To Logo’s with books. Did not take “Reflected Glory.”

Home. Hot!

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998

Awake 7:30. Watered lawn.

U.S. Open. Graf won, Seles won. Serena won, Chang won.

To Penney’s sale, no good. Ate burrito.

To Gottschalks, got beige 3/4 raincoat.

Home, news. Rain cancelled tennis.

TV: A bit of Geraldo, Law & Order.

Friday, Sept. 4, 1998

Awake 4, radio 5. 

Tea, read papers. Tennis at 8.

Breakfast at Kmart.

10, TV again: Graf, Seles won.

TV: A&E, LA Detectives. Serena Williams lost.

Took melatonin at 1:30, felt effects until noon.

Saturday, Sept. 5, 1998

Tennis til 1 p.m.

Venus won, opponent had sore back.

Kmart for ice cream. Very hot today.

Read a bit. 

TV: Taped Planet of the Apes, plus four sequels: Beneath, Escape, Conquest, Battle for.

No sleep til 1 a.m.

Monday, Sept. 7, 1998

Rain, 2 hrs, 5 min.

Up 7:30 Walked cliff.

Drug Emporium for BP, got trail mix.

Tennis, rain delay. Venus won, Sampras won.

Agassi vs Karl Kucera. KK repeatedly threw ball up, annoyed Agassi.

Watched ape movies til 11:30. Slept to 5 am!

Tuesday, Sept. 8, 1998

Tennis: Agassi lost, Seles lost.

To Drug Emporium: BP, got TV Guide.

Home, wrote Mina, two pages.

Some tennis, read papers.

No TV til 10 p.m.

 

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 1998

Cloudy, cold. Bits of rain in night.

Tennis: Davenport won, rain delay. Venus won. Sampras won.

Finished watching apes (Escape).

TV: X-Files, 1/2 hour.

News, bed. Good sleep.

Thursday, Sept. 10, 1998

Awake 6:45. Usual. Paid IRS.

News: Starr report sent yesterday, much made of it. To go on Internet.

Walked on cliff, talked to 90-year-old (in May). Lived in Oakland, family from Italy, near Pisa.

To Longs for BP, Xerox. McDonald’s for coffee.

TV: News Special on JFK, “The Dark Side of Camelot.”

Friday, Sept. 11, 1998.

Tennis cut for Clinton. CBS program cut in for “special” reading of Starr report so we missed first two sets. I called Ch. 46 to complain, they said talk to New York.

Almost every station has to say something about the report!

To show, “Rounders.” Good. 

Mail: Cards from Prudy, Linda. [It was the day before her 83rd birthday].

Tennis: Davenport over Williams. 6/4, 6/4

Saturday, Sept. 12, 1998 - Her birthday, turned 83

Up 7:15. Usual

Walked on cliff, hot.

Longs, BP OK.

Tennis: Davenport vs. Hingis, Lindsay did good!

Lunch at KFC, sandwich & coleslaw.

To show, “Slums of Beverly Hills.” Gross! 

Mail: Package from Mina, video of BBC show on Diana.

Sunday, Sept. 13, 1998

Up 8 a.m. Packed vitamins, watered lawns.

To Trader Joe’s, McDonald’s for coffee.

Home 12:30 p.m. Ironed pants.

To post office, mailed post cards to Prudy, Linda, Mina. 

TV: Some NFL, Judge Judy, Siskel & Ebert.

Discovery, Ancient Inventions, Terry Jones. Very funny. Taped more segments.

Monday, Sept. 14, 1998

Awake 5 a.m. Ate breakfast, to laundromat.

Got gas at Kmart.

Foned Ch. 11 to get ABC special, they said to call NYC. I did, ringing but funny noise, no answer. 

Football: Indians vs. 49ers, 49ers won 45 to 10.

TV: Law & Order, Bio: Christina Onasis

Tuesday, Sept. 15, 1998

Up 6:30. Shower/hair.

Drug Emporium for BP, good.

Library, read half of NY Times Magazine article re Mr. Starr.

To show,”"Saving Private Ryan.” 3 hours. Good.

Home.

TV:  About 5 minutes of Geraldo, then Morse, Law & Order.

Read papers, crossword. 

Wednesday, Sept. 16, 1998

Slept good, awake 7:30. Usual breakfast.

Some reports favor Clinton, reporters give excuses!

Worked on bush clippings. Talked to manager re Larry. Gave her typed info.

Called library to renew books.

Called SF MOMA: Thursday is half-price, first Tuesday of every month is free.

TV: Jim Lehrer, “The Gods Must be Crazy.” 

Thursday, Sept. 17, 1998

Awake 2-4-8. Usual breakfast, chores.

Watered lawn, finished bagging clippings.

To Longs, got muffins, tuna.

Home, made tuna salad, watched news.

Packed vitamins, rested one hour.

Fixed package for Justine: Sonoma arts brochure, 401K, lecithin.

To post office, library.

Home after sundae at McDonald’s.

 

Friday, Sept. 18, 1998 

Awake 6:45. Heat needed. 

Usual breakfast: Cereal, no bananas. Took potassium pill.

To bank, McDonald’s.

Looked at Gottschalks, nothing.

Home 11:15 a.m. Ate, news, read papers.

Worked on blue top, made shoulder seams tighter.

Some TV: Law & Order, ran tape of Three Tenors.

Bed 11. Hot, uncomfortable. 

 

Saturday, Sept. 19, 1998

Awake 6:30. Ate usual.

Washed car, watered lawn. Talked to Ellie.

To Orchard, got weed killer, bark. 

To McDonald’s for coffee/donut.

To library, read T.S. Eliot memoirs, turned in. 

To Kmart for lunch, tried on jeans. Nothing.

Home. Wound clock, oiled furnace.

TV: Giants over Dodgers, 18-4. Ran Three Tenors.

 

Sunday, Sept. 20, 1998

Awake 5, then 7. Usual.

Kmart for breakfast, walked on cliff.

Worked in yard, sprayed weeds. Spiders in bush in back.

Read papers, charted stocks.

Football: Miami over Pittsburgh. Tried to fix blue top.

TV: Ebert & Siskel, 60 mins, X-Files.

 

Monday, Sept. 21, 1998

Awake 6, started taping Clinton grand jury.To be 4 hours.

Cut bush in back til 10 a.m.

Changed, to Longs, BP OK. Coffee at McDonald’s.

Cut part of bush in back, then again from 1:30 to 2:31.

Shower/hair, papers.

TV: Clinton, received standing ovation.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 22, 1998

Up 6:30, heat. usual.

To Longs, BP good. Got Dinty Moore (3).

To library, NY Magazine gone! Put in request for it. Read Barrons, Opera.

To Kmart for lunch.

Mail: New Yorker, NYC info.

Wrote Justine, took to post office.

TV: A bit of Geraldo, Law & Order, news: Starr and Lewinsky.

Couldn’t sleep. Had milk & toast at 2 a.m.

 

Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1998

Bed til 9. Chores, walked on cliff.

To Vitamin Center, $16 for alfalfa, 550 pills. Drug Emporium has 500 for $7.44. None at Longs or Rite Aid.

Home, news, ate peaches,milk, etc.

Worked three hours on NYC info.

Tried on clothes, decided to wear black, brown change.

TV: Watched Frasier, taped A&E, Hilary & Bill Clinton.

 

Thursday, Sept. 24, 1998

Up 8 a.m. Viv called 9:05.

Longs, BP machine down.

To Ocean Street donut.

To Civic Center,  got tickets for Seniorama, $12 each.

To library, read Times magazine.

TV: News, Frost, “Executive Decision,” Kurt Russell.

Bed 11:30. Not good sleep!

Friday, Sept. 25, 1998

Awake 5 a.m. then 8. Chilly, read some.

Myra left vitamin bottle.

Called NY Times. After 3 calls, cost $10.75 for that mag, got entire paper. Girl suggested I read it at library.

To Drug Emporium, looking for soap.

Home 11:40. Some news, foned Myra. 

Cleaned front window! Must be years. Discarded dried flowers from previous tenant. Put Larry’s bird in their place.

To Live Oak, sat with lady from Shanghai.

Home. News, read T. S. Eliot.

 

Saturday, Sept. 26, 1998 

Awake 6:30. Usual breakfast. Sewed garter.

To Drug Emporium, got crackers. BP high.

To Viv’s. Was there 12:15, she not ready til 12:30. No money, I paid. 

Raining, a bit late to show. 2 hours, mostly good. [She doesn't say which movie!]

Back to Viv’s. Tea, talked til 4:45.

Home, dinner, news, balanced books.

TV: part of America’s Most Wanted.

Bed, crossword. Slept OK. Took melatonin. No REM.

Sunday, Sept. 27, 1998

Awake 7, usual breakfast. Finished crossword.

Chores, typed NYC info.

Mina called, long talk.

To Ocean Street donut. 

Got flu shot.

Football: Raiders 13, Dallas 12; 49ers  vs  Atlanta,  31-20. Denver over Redskins, Chiefs over Eagles.

TV: News, Siskel & Ebert, cannot get Ch. 54.

 

Monday, Sept. 28, 1998 

Call re bus to Manhattan.

Awake 6, usual breakfast.

Library, returned 3 books.

Home, meeting with manager: shed, can paint or remove at park’s expense; can wash car in space. Forgot to ask about fertilizing.

Ate at KFC, Ocean Street donut before library.

Home, sewed blue top and watched Bio on Gene Hackman.

TV: Geraldo had Joe Degeneres, Alan Dershowitz, got into argument, Joe called Alan a liar. Very angry.

Taped opera, Samson & Delilah.

Tuesday, Sept. 29, 1998

Slept heavy. Flu shot?

Up 6, ate usual. Refrig empty.

Called hotel, packed case.

To bank, put Viv’s check in, $12.

To McDonald’s at mall. Lily there. Had growth removed. Heavier, moves slower! Glad to see her. To Laughlin in November.

Wrote Justine. Got ice cream!

To Live Oak, Viv and I disagreed about Aptos.

TV: Morse, repeat. 

Bed 9:30. Still tired!

Wednesday, Sept. 30, 1998

Fair sleep. Awake 6, heat needed.

Usual breakfast, Jacks. Chores.

Drug Emporium for paper, Ocean Street donut.

To library, research for Mina.

Took ride to Aptos, Rancho Del Mar, “Aptos Village.” Some stores still there.

Home, ate. Some TV. Taped: Eastwood Jazz at Carnegie Hall. 5 hours.