My first cat cost me $5. I had always had dogs and never owned a cat. One day, MrNan and I were walking on Columbus Ave in NYC for a street festival and there was a shelter with kittens to adopt. He said - "want one?" I said "OK" and that's how Maximum D'Light came into our life. She was $5 - but the box to take her home was $10!

She was the runt of the litter who turned into what I politely called "The Sophia Loren of the Feline World" - she's not fat . . . she's voluptuous.

6 months later I was walking down the street near work and passed a pet food store. They didn't normally sell animals - just food and toys and that kind of thing. But someone must have dropped off a litter and there were the most adorable kittens in the window. One playful beauty was getting a lot of attention. She was calico and looked like Maxi and I called MrNan and said "get your ass down here now - if we don't grab this little girl, someone else will." He came over and picked her up. Looked her in the eyes and put her down. She opened her tiny mouth and let out a howl that shook the building. What a pair of lungs on her. It was love at first sight - and Mollycoddle D'Light came home with us that night. Maxi took one look at her - hit her on the head and then Maxi went into the closet to pout for 2 days - came out and the two of them loved each other for the rest of their lives. They passed away at age 16 - just 6 months apart - kind of freaky. Molly cost us $25 and I thought that was alot.

My girlfriend wanted an Abyssinian. I told her I thought she was horrible, spending money like that when there were so many adorable kittens just looking for homes - I went with her to pick up her Abby and I chastised her the whole way home "shame, shame, shame".

Slow fade to 7 years ago. Picture this . . . MrNan is out of town. Nanjeanne is bored. The Internet is now a part of our lives (this was pre-Clay so it was part of my life . . . just not my whole life g). I'm wandering around keeping myself busy. Find a test "What Kind of Cat is Perfect For You?". I take the test. Yes, I want a playful cat, one who loves people and other animals, one who doesn't shed too much, yada yada yada. The results come in . . . My Perfect Cat is an OCICAT??????? WTF??????

Okay, never heard of this breed. Let's go searching. I'm bored, nothing to do. I'm lonely - OMG . . . this is the most adorable breed in the world. They are combination of Abyssinian, American Tabby and Siamese. They look like little ocelots - all spotted and precious. I'm still safe - cause they are cute and all . . . but they cost MONEY. Who spends MONEY on a cat? Not me. I'm all into shelters and rescuing the strays. Only yuppie jerks spend money on cats. Nope, not me. But, what the hell. I’ve got time to kill – so I go looking at breeders. Oh, I’m in luck. No breeders in Connecticut. Closest one is in Pennsylvania. Whew . . . now I’m safe ‘cause there’s no way I’m going to travel to find a cat. I mean that’s just too obsessive.

So I read about Ocicats and I read about the different breeders and I decide to send an email to get information. Hey, it’s just information. I’m not really getting one of them. And I focus on one particular breeder in PA that I hear good things about. And they reply with the info. Yeah, you can have a kitten – you can get on a waiting list – send them a deposit – and all that jazz. WAITING LISTS? DEPOSITS? Oh, come on . . . who does this stuff? But . . . that picture is just so damn cute. Those kittens are just so precious. I’ll just look. I won’t touch. I’ll be good.

MrNan comes home. I say, you know I found this really interesting breed of cat – I know it’s crazy, they cost so much money – and I proceed to tell him how much. “Are you nuts?” he lovingly replies. “Yes, I know,” I say . . . “but just look at the picture.”

Fast forward to now – as my 2 Ocicats are lounging around the house. DoubleDutch and Ponyboy. DD is an older girl. We took her home from the breeder for a discounted(HAHA) price. She had given birth to 4 litters and they were spaying her. We fell in love with her sweetness. She’s shy and not comfortable with strangers – but she’s a beauty and she dances on her little twinkletoes whenever she’s particularly happy.

Ponyboy D’Light is a monster. He’s a lovebug who can’t get enough petting. But he’s also a stubborn brat. He’s everything that stupid test said. He adores people and other animals. He loves to play and his favorite game is fetch. You throw a rolled up piece of paper in the air – he bats it with his paw or his nose and then chases it. Then he brings it back to you in his mouth and tosses it to you to continue the game. Unfortunately, he does this usually around 11 PM at night and preferably when you’re all cozy in bed.

One night Pony was going crazy stalking and meowing around the bedroom heating vents. We finally looked and saw a little mouse scurrying back and forth trapped in the vents. I quickly grabbed Pony and ran out of the room, leaving MrNan inside. I brought him up a broom and a dustbin and reshut the door. Pony and I were out in the hall and all was silent for about 5 minutes. Finally, I hear laughing in the bedroom. MrNan calls out “What’s wrong with this picture Nanjeanne? I’m in the room with a broom and Pony is in the hall with you?” So we throw Pony into the bedroom and MrNan removes the venting. Pony grabs that mouse in 2 seconds. MrNan grabs Pony and he drops the mouse. MrNan scoops it up and takes it outside and lets it go in the woods. Pony whines the whole night. His toy mice just don’t cut it now.

The other day he brought us a little snake. We let him outside in the garden now that we have deer fencing and if we’re outside with him. He came out of the woods, ran up the deck into the bedroom and onto our bed. MrNan got the snake away from him. I went to Macy’s and got a new comforter for the bed.

In honor of Maxi, Molly, DD and Pony – Today’s Quote is: Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the leash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat. Mark Twain