It’s hard for me to deny the fact that I’m a crazy cat lady—just one look at my Instagram feed and you’ll know right away that I am guilty as charged. I just can’t seem to stop taking pictures of Abbie, the adorable feline I adopted from a shelter back in July 2002. If she ever goes missing (knock on wood that never happens) I have enough pictures of her to plaster a different one on every telephone post, mailbox, and shop window in the city.
Abbie and I had a rough start. At the rescue shelter, she was the only cat not trying to get my attention. She was tucked away in the back of her cage while the other cats were purring and meowing loudly and trying to sell themselves to everyone looking to adopt a fur baby. But not this cat. “I’m just going to sit here and be quiet and do my thing,” I imagined her thinking. Being a bit of an introvert myself, I was instantly charmed by her anti-social attitude. (Odd, I know.)
Truth be told, I would have adopted every cat there (and all the dogs in the adjoining room) if I could—but I knew the skinny gray cat was the one coming home with me.
“Are you sure?” I’ll always remember the shelter employee’s incredulous tone when I pointed at (as of yet unnamed) Abbie’s cage and asked to hold her. They informed me that she’d been picked up from an alley the day before and they weren’t sure what to do with her because she wasn’t particularly nice. Her unusual sales tactic worked because that just made me want to adopt her more. I recently found this picture in a big box of photos in my parents’ house. This is the snapshot that started it all:
I often use the word “tempestuous” when talking about Abbie because she embodies the word perfectly. One second she can be calm and sleep peacefully on your lap and the next she’ll be jumping on a table, ready to send something fragile crashing to the ground. She’s moody and difficult—requesting food and water in the middle of the night with the most aggravating of meows until you have no choice but to give in and get up. She always has food and water at her disposal, of course. But she wants water from the tap and there’s never enough food in the bowl. But then there are days when I’m feeling under the weather and she knows I need to rest and she’ll be quiet and cuddly and won’t ever leave my side. When I’m feeling better, it’s back to her old self. (Thank goodness she’s cute.)
I can’t complain too much, though. She’s usually a very patient model and lets me take all the time I need to get the perfect shot. Picture-taking is a year-long activity, but I particularly enjoy it at Christmas when I can dress her up with festive costumes. Here are some of my favourite Christmas pictures of Abbie. I’m looking forward to adding more to my collection as we continue our (somewhat) peaceful cohabitation.
Thank you so much for having me, Rachel, and Happy Holidays to you and your readers!
Abbie looks and sounds adorable, I especially love the bottom left picture of the collage. Thank you so much for sharing your love of cats with us Cat! And of course, Happy Holidays to you and Abbie.
About Cat Lavoie
Cat Lavoie lives in Montreal, Canada with her tempestuous cat, Abbie. She is the author of BREAKING THE RULES, ZOEY & THE MOMENT OF ZEN, and PERI IN PROGRESS. If Cat isn’t reading or writing, she’s most likely watching too much TV or daydreaming about her next trip to London.
Website: http://www.catlavoie.com/
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Peri In Progress
You know what they say about best-laid plans…
After a disastrous thirty-first birthday party where she gets stood-up by a man she isn’t supposed to be dating, Peri McKenna decides it’s time to change what hasn’t been working—which is pretty much everything. Her love life is going nowhere fast, she’s bored to tears by a job that makes her the office pariah, and the lifelong junk food addiction that used to be somewhat quirky is now positively problematic. To top it all off, her newly-purchased home is falling apart and wishful thinking hasn’t done much to fix the leaky roof.
It’s time be an adult now that she’s officially ‘thirty-something.’
But when the first step of Peri’s self-improvement plan backfires, she starts to wonder if change might be overrated.
Enter Milo Preston, an up-and-coming chef who’s in town to take over a local restaurant. When Peri and Milo begin working together, she finds it hard to ignore his easy charm and captivating emerald-green eyes. Since Milo is her best friend’s estranged brother, Peri has to keep reminding herself that he is completely off-limits. As they grow closer, Milo introduces Peri to new foods, the joy (and pain) of jogging, and makes her think her luck might finally be turning.
But when the past catches up with them, Peri finds herself back at square one. Will she be able to sort herself out—or will the roof cave in on her once and for all?
Purchase Peri in Progress
Abbie is the very definition of "cute!" I'm so glad the two of you found each other, Cat. Merry Christmas to both of you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Tracie!! :) Merry Christmas!!
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