Happy 13th birthday to sweet Jazmine!

It’s hard to believe our golden girl, once a tiny kitten who Dan and I adopted in March of 2014 after meeting her at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, FL (love at first sight, of course…), is now a golden girl herself at thirteen years old! She is certainly a young-at-heart thirteen, but according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), she is now the equivalent of seventy-four human years.

Jazmine stole our hearts from day one!

Every day of those thirteen years, Jazmine has brought endless joy, smiles, and sunshine to our lives. She can be a sweet, silly snuggle bunny and your best friend, and then, on a whim, she can decide she would prefer her own company to yours.

Despite her beautiful, feminine looks and irresistibly sweet meow-chirp, she is a true huntress with the best of them—from her beloved plush Angry Bird toys that she drags all over the house to communicate with us (feed me, pet me, come take a nap with me) to a few not-so-lucky lizards that have crossed her path.

Come on out and play, Mr. Lizard…I promise I won’t hurt you…

Unlike her other cat mates—Mia, Peanut, Rolz, Kizmet, and Shadow—she prefers not to cuddle-nap with them. Kizmet has been her steady buddy from day one, and they nap near each other, but not curled up in an inseparable ball like they did in years past. Shadow? He’s still a four-letter word in her mind, but at least the fur flying between the two has calmed down considerably.

In the first few years of their friendship, Kizmet and Jazmine were nearly inseparable

Happy Birthday, sweet girl. We look forward to many more years together. And thank you for inspiring my love for ginger cats, which led to my newest book project: Orange Crush: Television, Cartoons, Movies, Housecats, and More—The History and Love Affair with the Ginger Cat. This epic book will hopefully be published by mid-2027, with details to follow in the coming months.

Like a fine wine, Jazmine only gets more beautiful with age