milo during kittenhood

Look, I know some of you are cat-haters. I used to be one myself, mainly because I grew up with minor cat allergies. But I outgrew those, met Johnny (after admiring him from afar), and he invited me over to his apartment for dinner. He not only cooked amazing Indian food w/the Bulgarian Women's Choir in the background (very cool), but he had the sweetest black cat, Buddy. Honestly, I was a little nervous - like when you meet your boyfriend's/girlfriend's parents - because Johnny & Buddy were quite the pair. Buddy was a loyal companion for many of Johnny's single years. Plus, like I said, I wasn't so sure about cats. But I knew I wanted to spend as much time with Johnny as possible, so I showed up for our date with an open mind.

After Indian food, we settled on Johnny's futon to watch Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and Buddy sat right between us - to chaperon. He looked at me and purred and that was it. I was sold on cats, though I think the catch is to raise them indoors, be affectionate, and not expect them to act like dogs (I love dogs, too). When Johnny and I wed, Buddy adopted me. A few years later, putting our cat to sleep was one of the most traumatic events of my life. I drove us all to the vet that day against my will. I was in physical pain. I've told Harley and Milo several times, "You are not allowed to get sick until you are at least 20. I am not driving any of us to the vet [for that reason] any time soon."

After Buddy's passing, we waited a bit, but not too long, then adopted Harley when he was nine months old. Then, of course, our friend Amy found Milo under her backyard shed when he was a mere two weeks old. He chirped like a bird and broke our hearts. I didn't know if we could keep him alive, but God helped us - that's for sure.

Please bear with me here. We are pretty proud cat owners. Our cats can be nuts, but they have the sweetest personalities, and provide endless entertainment. Back at our newlywed apartment, we had to keep Milo in a big, bedside cage for awhile. He was too small to interact with Harley, and we had to make sure Milo was virus-free. When we let him out, he pretty much acted like this (and he still does):



Part of Milo's craziness is due to not being raised with his brothers & sisters, but he's our funny little guy. And he's still pretty little. But when I really watch him, or look in Harley's eyes, I think, "Goodness, God made them. He makes all things well. Adam named them. Caring for pets is quite an honor."