Pet of the Week: Lilith!
Zoe Stanton-Savitz ‘23
Lilith, a five-month old American shorthair kitten, is somewhat of a campus celebrity, known because she often goes on walks throughout campus adorning a signature pink leash.
Owner AJ McCormick ‘22 adopted Lilith three months ago from Happy Tails in New Jersey.
“[The shelter] actually focused on guinea pigs,” McCormick says. “But they found her on the side of train tracks and then they put photos of her up on Petfinder.”
The shelter found her at two days old and bottle fed her until she was old enough for real food. McCormick found her picture online and fell in love.
“I’ve always wanted a black cat,” McCormick says. “I was aggressively looking for a black cat and I saw her and I was like ‘I like that one.’”
One reason McCormick wanted a black cat is because of the superstition that they are bad luck. Because of this, black cats are often neglected and commonly mistreated.
“Black cats are so abused,” McCormick says. “People will buy them just to put them on the street so they don’t get adopted.”
Additionally, black cats are affiliated with witchcraft, a practice of which McCormick is interested.
“It makes me feel more witchy,” McCormick says. “I’m certified now that I have a black cat.”
Lilith is named after the demonic figure in Judaic mythology — Adam’s first wife before Eve.
“Lilith didn’t want to be sexually submissive to Adam and then she was kicked out of the garden and shunned and became kind of a she-demon figure” McCormick explains. “She’s became kind of a feminist movement.”
Lilith the cat, like her namesake, is fierce and spirited. She loves chasing lights, playing with anything that jingles including keys, bells, and her favorite chirping toy, and sitting in bags and boxes. According to McCormick, Lilith is very playful so sometimes she forgets that biting can be painful.
“When playing, she knows not to use her nails, now. But she doesn’t understand that teeth still hurt,” McCormick says. “I’m always covered in bite marks.”
Also, of course, Lilith loves going on walks throughout campus. McCormick began training her to walk on a leash when she was only two months old.
“The first couple of times she wouldn’t walk she would just kind of sit in my arms with the leash and collar,” McCormick says. “Now she’s more comfortable with it and she’ll walk around and pull me.”
McCormick struggles with depression and a panic disorder and often feels isolated but Lilith offers abundant love and affection.
“Whenever I sleep, she’s immediately on top of me,” McCormick says. “I call her my scarf because whenever I lay down she’s immediately around my neck and on my face.”
When McCormick feels anxious, Lilith also lays on their chest which provides comforting pressure. McCormick says Lilith helps them not feel as alone.
“I really like coming home because she gets really happy when she sees me,” McCormick says. “She immediately comes up to me and starts purring. It makes me feel really good.”