familiar faces
■ by Lisa Lednicer | photo by Tom Sandner
Kitten Caboodle Some might call Marnie Russ a crazy kitten lady. She wouldn’t want it any other way. AS A KID growing up in Montana,
Kitten whisperer Marnie Russ
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Marnie Russ had a soft spot in her heart for cats—even though her family’s gray tuxedo, Kitsy, was, in her words, “a total jerk. “I literally have scars on my body from her. She didn’t like people, didn’t want to be around people,” Russ says. “[But] I loved her so much I couldn’t stand it.” Fast-forward a few decades and Russ was building a career on the Hill in Washington, D.C. Summer internships had brought her here as a University of Montana student, and she returned after graduation to work as a lobbyist. In the evenings, she came home to an orange tabby named Tigger. “That cat was always lovable and welcomed everyone. He was a gentle giant,” Russ remembers. Whenever she was nauseous from chronic migraines, Tigger would lie next to her until she felt better. When she’d get out her suitcase for a work trip, he would grab her ankles as if to stop her from leaving. He was so friendly that a veterinarian suggested she take him to hos-
March/April 2022 ■ ArlingtonMagazine.com
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