Shadow napping on the couch.

According to the lunar calendar, Chinese New Year, 2024 is the year of the Wood Dragon. While I certainly don’t want to minimize the importance of this ancient custom, I must respectfully say that in our house, it is the year of the Shadow. Why? Because that little black cat of ours that showed up as a kitten in our driveway a little over 4 years ago, in November 2023, has done something we never thought we’d see: he came onto the couch one morning with me and settled in for a nap! Read more

Beautiful Jazmine in all her peach fuzz glory.

The Pantone Color Institute named its 2024 color of the year, PANTONE 13-1023 “Peach Fuzz,” declaring our need for compassion and human connection in the year ahead. It’s a velvety and soothing tone meant to represent “our desire to nurture ourselves and others” and “whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.” For Jazmine, our feline diva cloaked in luxurious peachy, fuzzy fur, the announcement was met with some dismay, because to her, every year should be the year of Peach Fuzz. Truth is, she has a valid point. The correlation between the power of peach fuzz and feline fur to enrich one’s mind, body, and soul is a strong one indeed, and one that should not be overlooked. Read more

November is Adopt a Senior Pet month, and with five of our seven cats officially seniors, it’s hard not to dwell on their age. International Cat Care states, “Feline ages and life stages have been redefined. Cats are elderly once they reach 11 years, with senior cats defined as those aged between 11 and 14 and geriatric cats 15 years and upwards.”

That means my Zoey, who was just a tiny kitten a mere fraction of a minute ago in my mind, is now geriatric at 15 years of age. It’s tough to wrap my head around the notion, as she looks and acts as young as ever. Age is but a number to her. Her most recent checkup came back with great results, and she’s as spry, alert, and overly vocal as ever. The only thing the vet recommended was some B-12 to help support her metabolic processes, and thankfully, she happily eats her Cobalequin chewable tablets with no fuss. Her eyes remain bright and clear, and her fur is as soft as silk, too, with no grooming issues. Read more

My lap on any typical evening.

It was around 8:00 p.m., and Dan and I were finally settled on the couch for the evening. I think I had at least two cats sleeping on me and Dan one or two. Dan’s phone rang – it was a co-worker. He had found an abandoned neonatal kitten (neonatal is a kitten defined as newborn to four weeks old) at the facility where they work, outside in the rain, and he needed help. The mother cat was nowhere to be found, nor were there littermates. It was clear if he didn’t intervene, the kitten would not survive. Read more

This photo from 2020 sums me up. Anywhere I am, there will be a cat, or two, or three…

My cats, no matter what point in the journey of my life, have always been bonded to me. Some more than others, ranging from degrees of “Yes, please make sure to pat me when you walk by, but then go your merry way,” to “Oh my God, no! Please don’t ever let me out of your sight, my life as I know it will be over if I don’t know where you are at all times!” In early March of this year, that dynamic shifted, with nearly all of my current gang of seven consumed with the need to be near me. Read more