Shelter Cats and Redemption

Fifteen years ago this summer, I took what became THE famous.... Tyler sitting funny picture. Summer, 2003.  I don't remember the exact date.   My first apartment, Glen Cove, NY. One summer weekend, on an otherwise normal, uneventful day, I happened to be walking into the living room from the bedroom, when.....I noticed....an extremely funny sight. Tyler was sitting on my living room recliner in this exact pose: Before I could even let out a chuckle, I grabbed my camera (an actual camera, with film!) and snapped this now famous shot before Tyler could move. The rest, as they say, is history. Since this was 2003, a year or so before Facebook was even invented, I couldn't share this anywhere. I think friendster may have been around?  Myspace?  I don't recall offhand.  I did, however, email it to everyone I knew.   Since then, this photo has been my go-to pic to prove that, without a doubt, Tyler was the ultimate ham. ...

Now....back to celebrating and commemorating happy feline occasions. This coming Wednesday, July 11th, is a big day in my feline household. It's a double birthday! Tucker turns 5! Minnie Turns 1! Not only that, but July 11th marks 6 months since Minnie ended her life on the streets and became the happiest female house cat in the world. Talk about a day of celebrations, right? As is often the case with my cats, I never know their actual birthday, so I make up one for them. Why not?  Cats deserve birthday celebrations too, right? I've always thought so.  I have never and will never consider them my pets.  No.  They're family.  Family members always get to celebrate birthdays, so there you go. Tucker got backdated to 7/11/13 based on his age when I adopted him.  Minnie got backdated to 7/11/17 because there was no possible way she was any older than that without having given birth already to kittens of her own, so we made her birthday last July...