13 months

13 months is all we had with Romeo but they were months filled with head butts and belly rubs, a deep, rumbly purr, and the most loving personality I've ever encountered in a feline. I'll be honest--if I were allowed to choose, I'd have gladly handed over a couple of our other cats if that could somehow keep Romeo with us, but it doesn't work that way, does it?

I don't understand how a cat gets cancer. Smoking? Bad living? Romeo had no bad habits apart from an incessant need for snuggling. He was coddled from the day he showed up, given the best food, brushed and petted and adored like no cat before. But all that love couldn't protect him from the rogue cells that weakened him to the point that he was too frail to withstand today's surgery.

He walked in to our house one day out of nowhere and added something indescribable to our family. He was the sweetest, gentlest of cats and he will be sorely missed.

June

It's June and, at our house, June is when the invisible-to-humans sign appears over our door which says (in cat language) "suckers live here". That's my theory anyway, because this is the third time a sweet, lovable stray has shown up and moved in in June.

Last year, just a couple of days before the bar mitzvah, Chutki showed up after having delivered what was likely her first litter of kittens which were nowhere to be found. She had no trouble settling in to our family and while she's playful and occasionally entertaining, she's very independent. She will rub against a leg when she chooses, but there's no way she would sit in a lap or submit to any sort of love. She hasn't been the most satisfying of cats.

Many of my readers know about Chet who showed up 4 years ago in June. He lived with us for quite some time but when Chutki showed up, he was out of here. Too many females! He mostly lives outside and has friends all over the neighborhood. He spent the coldest part of the winter in our house but otherwise has little use for us. So he's only sort of our cat.

Which is why we can surely add another one, right?

This boy showed up last week and I fell in love almost instantly. I've always wanted a huge male cat who would sit in my lap. This guy fits the bill. He's enormous and must be either all or in large part Maine Coon, both because of looks and temperament. He's a total sweetie and has a seemingly endless capacity for petting. He's clearly not a cat that's been on his own for long and he's pretty happy around people. Someone must be missing him. But I'm also kind of in love so if no one claims him I guess I will just have to keep him. How sad!

The best part is how my husband immediately understood that resistance was futile this time around.