What is it that I can’t do without when I’m writing? Most consistently, my poison has been cats.

First and foremost there was Max, my furry soulmate for nineteen years. He was warm, wise, outgoing, known amongst my friends as the Cat of Peace. Nearly two years after he headed for more catnippy pastures, I still miss him.

Max 

Along the way I rescued other cats, most notably the inimitable 99, who left this crazy world before I could get any digital photos of her. She was strikingly beautiful, and Queen of the Cranky. 99 loved no one but me, and that made me feel special. She closely resembled this gorgeous cat. Just add a beguiling smudge on the nose and you’ll get the idea.

99-ish 

Then right outside my back door I found a shy feral and Princess of Fluff, Lucy, who joined me and Max indoors. Wary, able to hunt down any insect, Lucy made me laugh at the most unexpected times.

  Lucy

I also kept in contact with Lucy’s mother, Miss Kitty, who was too wild to come inside, but whose untamed soul and predatory ways (hello huge snake head on my doorstep!) provided a lot of insight into her big cousins, tigers, for the OTHERKIN series.

  Miss Kitty 

After Max died, I waited a year to adopt another boy cat. Then a kitten named Marlowe came my way. Tiny but fearless. Here he is the first day I brought him home.

Marlowe 

Five months later he’s impossible and wonderful. One minute he’s tormenting my laptop power plug into submission, the next he’s purring and licking my eyelid. Like all my cats he’s a handful and a muse, an irritant and an inspiration.

Marlowe Today

I wouldn’t want to write any other way.