Maya was our beloved queen cat. She belonged to my partner from kittenhood, then adopted me at age 3 or 4 in 2000. She was always completely herself: demanding, beautiful, proud, wise, confident and more than a little bit snarky. Over the years we became best friends, and she took a great part in teaching me, and others, how to communicate with animals. For several years, she also had her own highly opinionated advice column on my site.