Though I did not get a maternity leave like some other members of the GT team, my life has also recently been forever changed by the introduction of a new little member of my family. As of last week, I am the proud mother of a beautiful baby girl (read: a cat who is between 1 and 2 years old).

Maisy (named after the mouse from the children’s books) is an incredibly sweet tabby who I adopted from Whiskers of Love Cat Rescue and Sanctuary in Philadelphia. I’ve been wanting to adopt a cat for years, but I had been waiting to land my first full-time job after graduating college. Since I’ve now been at GT for almost three months, it felt like time for me to adopt a little companion. My two roommates each own a cat, and I wanted one of my own to join the party.

After a bit of a roller coaster of an adoption process where I met several cats that didn’t work out for one reason or another, the incredibly helpful people at Whiskers of Love suggested I meet Maisy (then named Nikki) and her other foster siblings at her foster home. As soon as I met her, I fell instantly in love. She was purring and rubbing against my hands and arms right away. Plus, her little face!!! I could not resist.

I’ve now had her living in my bedroom for a week, and I absolutely adore her. She is the perfect cat — tons of fun to play with; super sweet and affectionate; and, of course, very adorable. When I brought her to my parents’ house for Christmas, even my previously anti-cat father couldn’t resist her charm and even ended up buying her a few presents. The wake-up calls via meowing I’m now getting every day somewhere between 4 and 5 a.m. almost feel worth it!

I am so excited for her to get more and more comfortable with me, meet my roommates’ cats, and to be my little sidekick for the rest of her life.

— Hannah Gruen, administrative coordinator