This is Kirby the cat. She's my "bachelorette" cat, the only kitty in the house who dates back to my wild, single days.

She used to live with me in my tiny apartment in the top floor (i.e. attic) of an old Victorian home in Princeton, New Jersey. She got used to nestling in at my computer desk and keeping me company while I wrote.

She has a mad passion for pens and will sometimes go from "Zombied Out Sleeping Cat" to "Crazy Pen Basher" in two seconds. She likes to bat my pens with her paw and send them flying around the room like volleyballs.

Kirby is getting a bit old, she's over 14 years old. She's kept her kittenish physique, but she is starting to cry out in the middle of the night as if seeking something or someone. The vets have checked her out, and she's not sick as best we can tell. This could be early "feline senility" setting in. I'm just glad I'm with her each day to keep her company and make sure she gets plenty of rubs and petting.

The other day I was in a restaurant and someone had a baby with them who started crying in the middle of lunch, and I swear to Bastet that the baby's cries sounded EXACTLY like Kirby's howls in the middle of the night.

Kitty babies need just as much care as human babies do. Here's hoping that I can give Kirby everything she needs and wants in her golden years. She's been a wonderful, loyal friend.

Photo of Tiger the Cat

Tiger is one of our younger cats.

He's very sweet and easy-going.

He's sort of the house manager, always making sure that things are running smoothly, the other cats are behaving, and everything is in its place.

And he likes string.