“Cheshire (formerly known as Charlie) is my first kitty as an adult (my family had two cats at different times when I was growing up), and my first male!

“I gravitated toward Cheshire because he was one of the longest residents at the shelter and because he matched my lifestyle. I knew I would be away much of the day for school and eventually for work, and the fact that he’s content to spend most of his time simply watching the birds from my window is ideal. Also, when I first met him, I apparently stayed with him longer than other visitors did, allowing him to work up the courage to play with me.

“Since I’m not a great fan of using human names for animals, I’d picked out a list of names in advance, and while I was reading them aloud, he pounced when he heard Cheshire – and that was that. No sooner had I let him out of his carrier than he made himself right at home. As it was summer, and I don’t have A/C, he decided his favorite spots were on the bathroom and kitchen floors where it was cooler. The bathroom is still a favorite of his, especially when he follows me in there and dutifully ‘protects’ me from the evil shower curtain!

“Cheshire has been a blessing for me. Diagnosed with depression years ago, it had recently reached the point where my therapist recommended I get an Emotional Support Animal. Cheshire now ‘demands’ that I get up to feed him and refuses to eat unless I eat with him. He may not purr, but he’s extremely generous with his kisses. Not only that, but he’s highly intelligent (he figured out how to undo the lock on my door) and loves food puzzles. As a result, I now build simple puzzles for dinner and he takes much longer to eat, which is great for his weight.

“He absolutely loves cuddling at night. He refuses to sleep anywhere but my bed and gets cranky if I try to move him. During the day however, he’s absolutely bonkers. He plays tag, hide-and-seek and ‘I wonder if I can eat this cardboard or piece of homework without mom noticing?’”

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Furry Friends Fur-Ever Stories are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA. She lives with her adopted Maltese named Mini.