Wilson Critters Weekly 10/6
Angel Alvarado | Oct. 6, 2026
Gustav goes for a walk. (Echo/Olivia Wamsley)
Olivia Wamsley and Amira Al-hammami, both seniors at Warren Wilson College (WWC), took in a small orange-cream-colored kitten over the summer of 2025 with what they described as beautiful stripes and spots. The kitten was originally named French Fry, but after hearing his particularly low, gravely meow, they named him Gustav. At first, Gustav was an emergency foster placement from a hoarding situation given to a friend of theirs; it was said that he wouldn’t survive the night due to a brain injury and extreme malnourishment, among other concerns. But he lived for five more months before sadly passing due to uncontrollable seizures, most likely due to his brain injury.
For the first month of Gustav’s life, Wamsley described him “as if someone tried to draw a cat from memory and couldn’t quite figure it out”, all said lovingly, of course. In the months that followed, Gustav showed his true colors as a crazy, playful adventure cat. He loved biting toes and chasing his human friends' feet around the house all day, but always ended the day with snuggles. Gustav also had a strange fascination with tortillas and anything bread-related. He was said to find tortilla packages, rip into them and carry pieces of tortilla around the house. Even after he passed, Wamsley and Al-hammami described how they would find little pieces of tortilla around the house for months after, even keeping a piece to place on Gustav’s altar that they made in memory of him
Gustav wasn’t a big fan of toys, but he had a friend in the form of an off-brand Labubu named LaFreakFreak; more importantly, he had his designated chair, a tiny koala chair one of Wamsley’s friends gifted her that she accepted. Gustav ended up loving the chair and claimed it as his own.
Gustav sleeps in his koala chair at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, N.C. (Echo/Olivia Wamsley)
In his short life, Gustav was able to meet many friends and feel loved and cared for. Surviving and beating the odds to live just a little longer, giving Wamsley, Al-hammami and their friends memories that will never be forgotten, but always cherished in their hearts. His impact led Wamsley to foster two more kittens and eventually meet her cat, Mangz.
Gustav perches on Warren Wilson College senior Olivia Wamsley’s shoulder in Swannanoa, N.C. (Echo/Olivia Wamsley)