A special, special Mother's Day

10 years ago this very Mother’s Day, my mom flew from Atlanta to visit me in my first grown-up apartment just outside of Boston. After I picked her up from the airport, I drove 30 miles out straight to Buddy Dog Humane Society to take home a pair of brothers: one named Sam with the funny tail, the other named Pumpkin with the patch on his arm.

My mom spent most of Mother’s Day cleaning the vomit and watery poo off of Sam’s wiggly body. Happy Mother’s Day!

Two new cats and high-waisted jeans in my first apartment

Pumpkin, now VanBuren, falling asleep while playing 10 years ago.

VanBuren today, just slightly more distinguished.

Sam, now Baxter, sitting for his first portrait, 10 years ago:

Baxter, 123189345982 million portraits later:

Baxter and VanBuren were the first things Dan and I ever owned jointly, even though we weren’t living together at the time. The cats stayed with me. It turned out Dan was quite allergic to cats. It turns out their maniacal shedding happens year-round. They were here to stay though, so either Dan becomes not allergic to them, or we break up, take your pick.

We didn’t break up, but Dan is still allergic to them. Oh the price was pay for LOVE.

We had actually intended to adopt these other brothers at the shelter who had been there a very long time. They were long-haired versions of B and VB, named Oreo and Elvis. After the second visit to the shelter, we noticed the short-haired brothers, who had also already been there for some time – 6 months! As I approached, the plump orange one smeared himself back and forth so hard against the cage that the bars rattled. His open display of violent affection was very effective. I had never met a friendlier cat in my life! I changed my mind on the spot and decided I would take them home, even as his green-eyed brother remained in the back unmoving, with his trademark disdainful look which he still gives us today.

It turns out that he’s the biggest lap cat. He cannot WAIT to sit in your lap.

And VanBuren cannot wait for more roast beef. Tuna is good too. Today we’re giving them a little extra of both, plus some good old-fashioned cat treats. And then we’re going to write another special song for them, to add to our collection of 15 or so special songs already written.

Look how photogenic they are, even from this angle! How many film photos of them do I have sitting in a shoebox, and how many digital photos of them to have burned to disk? TOO MANY and yet NOT ENOUGH. In a few hours I will have the privilege of doing a pet shoot for another pet lover, and it’s because for the past 10 years I have been unknowingly gearing myself towards this goal. Fat Orange Cat Studio would not exist right now without Baxter and VanBuren who gave me the obsessive need to document them from every. conceivable. angle.

Here’s to another 10 (maybe more??) years!

Hopefully by then prices in pet cloning will have gone way down.