Things I Learned from My Cats :)

1) Love carefully, but love fully.

2) No matter what the question is, sleep is the answer.

3) Don't forget to sleep in the sun whenever possible.

4) Stop and listen to the birds.

5) Never underestimate the ability of small silly things to make you happy (anyone seen a cat with a shoestring lately, or a piece of foil? 'Nuff said.)

6) Stretching feels gooood.

7) There's nothing wrong with being independent.

8) Don't be afraid to take a risk for fear of looking silly. If you fail, you can always claim you meant to do that in the first place. (This isn't completely original. George Carlin had a skit years ago in which he talked about how cats would fall and yet make it look like they meant to do that. But I think the principle holds true.)

9) Getting through life is at least 90% a matter of attitude.

10) And finally, there isn't anything wrong with the world that a warm cat, a soft blanket, and a cup of hot chocolate can't cure.

My thanks to Tess, Tasha, Shadow, Cilla, Earl, Elvis, Griffin and Sochi who taught me these lessons. May Bastet watch over you all.

RIP, Soichiro-chan 1994 (???) - 2009

I had to say goodbye to a good friend today. I had to put my cat down today.

Sochi found me in 1997. Those of you who are cat people know that you don't find them---they find you. Sochi found me in a muddy, oily hole-in-the-wall segment of a parking lot (literally; he'd crawled into a loosened area of brick to hide.) He'd been dumped---to this day, I can't imagine that. For the 12 years I was privileged to know him, Sochi was the best example of a cat. He was faithful and fearless and a good friend and companion (and, until I met my husband, he was my most stable male relationship.)

He had such personality, I can't begin to describe it. He might have had some Siamese in him (I certainly couldn't tell it from looking; he was a tuxedo cat through and through) but he sure was vocal enough to make me wonder. There was one meow for "it's time to get up and feed me" and another for "it's time to go to bed" and several thousand others for all the conversations he had in the course of a day. For the longest time, it was just he and I and his talking made me feel much less alone.

I let him go today because he was old and sick and his kidneys had finally, finally shut down. He was a good friend and among the best of cats, and I owed him a graceful exit (and so much more.)

Sochi, my friend, rest in peace. Go play with Tasha and Tess and Shadow and Ginger and Gypsy and Schatze and Klein and all the other animals we've loved and lost. They've been waiting for you. I'll miss you.

It's Me. Posting Again :)

Hi everyone,

Sorry, I fell off the earth there for a bit (well, not really---I was active on my fanfic blog, just not here.;) I've spent the last month or so trying to stay off the radar at work (and mostly succeeding) and trying to keep track of an active, growing toddler (and definitely succeeding there. :-))

We're looking at moving to a larger place after the holidays. No, not to a house---we don't have near the money we'd need to pull that off, and in this economy, I'm not sure we want to take on a California-sized mortgage just now. We're looking at moving to a larger apartment so that the wee one can finally have a room of her own (yes!) and my hubby can have some place for his book business that doesn't involve, oh, every other room in our house. :)

Which brings me to the one change that I fear will be coming sooner rather than later. Sochi, the cat whom I almost had put to sleep in July, is ailing once again. Nothing wrong with him besides being older than Noah, but it's obvious he's coming to the end of the road. I just hate the idea of having to be the one to make a choice to end his life---but after all the years we've had together, I think I owe him more than keeping him alive and in failing health just so I don't have to make the decision. It's a tough call, again, but one I think we'll be making pretty soon.

Tomorrow is Veterans' Day here in the US. If you are veteran, or are serving now, thank you.