“I adopted Babs a few months after my first kitty Newt died of lymphoma,” Erika explains.

“The reason I chose her was because she was such a funny girl — even at the shelter. While I was holding her, she reached up and slapped me in the face with a soft paw! I was so overwhelmed by the number of cute cats there that I wanted a night to think about which one to adopt. But on my way home, I couldn’t stop laughing about that face slap, and knew Babs was my new baby. Now it seems totally ridiculous that I even had to think about it. Babs is the ‘Mary Poppins’ of cats: practically perfect in every way.

“She adjusted pretty much immediately. She only went under the couch for the first half-hour or so, and then she was out and exploring. Her body language that first day was basically: ‘This is all for me??? Really???’ Then she discovered her favorite blanket and started kneading and nuzzling it like crazy and she settled right in. That is still her favorite blanket. Any time I’m under it, she ends up on top of me, furiously making biscuits and purring her head off.

“My heart was completely broken after my cat Newt’s death, and Babs put it back together again. She is such a love bug and she makes me laugh every single day. Every person who has met her is obsessed with her. She’s so affectionate and silly that no one can resist her! In fact, a few days after my mom met her, she called me and said. ‘Erika, I’ve been thinking, and I’ve decided that I want Babs.’ Of course that wasn’t an option, but I appreciated the sentiment.

“Babs LOVES to play. Her favorite toys are peacock feathers and her ball track toy. Whenever we play with a peacock feather, she gets fully airborne and does little flips! She’s also one of the cuddliest cats I’ve ever met. When she curls up on my lap, it’s EXTREMELY hard to get her to move. I’ll try to subtly shift if I need to get up and she usually just readjusts herself and stays on my lap. She wakes me up most mornings by headbutting my face and then curling up with me for pets and purrs. She will often end up holding my face with her ENORMOUS paws or pressing her cheek against my mouth for kisses. She also likes to drape herself across my chest and throat and even sometimes my head. I woke up this morning because she was across my neck, purring, like a vibrating scarf. A friend was visiting recently and said she woke up because Babs was on her shoulder/chest, kneading her stomach. She’s an absolute baby.

When I come home from work — or whenever someone visits — she does little forward rolls/somersaults. It’s extremely silly. She also has a major case of ‘elevator butt.’ If you pet the base of her tail, her hind legs stand up completely. That’s often when she’ll duck her head, roll forward, and sploot her hind legs out. So, so silly. She’s also the most enthusiastic biscuit maker I have EVER met.

“She usually sleeps with me. She loves soft surfaces, so she has a bed on my bed and a bed in the living room. She’s OBSESSED with the bed that’s on my bed, and starts her nights there. Sometimes she’s still in her living room bed when I’m ready to go to sleep and I’ll carry the bed with her in it into the bedroom, which she very much enjoys. By the time I wake up, she’s usually moved in for full contact cuddles.”

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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.