i havent written in awhile. low executive dysfunction, depression, whatever. my boyfriend said to me “you havent written about atticus” and i thought to myself hes right, i havent. atticus is one of my biggest distractions. who is atticus? hes a lovable, adorable, 3 year old black cat i adopted in january. my previous feline companion emma passed away in december a day after i had a total knee replacement. that time was probably the worst in my entire life. losing her, the hell i experienced in a subpar (to say the least) rehab facility, the depression, the physical pain, i was running on fumes emotionally. emma and i had been together 17 years, her birthday would have been 6 days after she passed away. my boyfriend was taking care of her and he found her. i cannot image the horror he felt. i was an emotional wreck anyway and he got her cremated and made sure she was treated with respect. i am forever indebted.

onto happier things. in january i decided that it was time to help another cat. i had found one on the humane rescue alliance page and thought he would be perfect, but his foster didnt respond. so the search continued. i came upon atticus (who the shelter named freso and his fosters changed to frisco. poor thing probably had an identity crisis when i changed it to atticus). i had my virtual meet and greet and immediately fell in love. my partner wasnt thrilled (understandably) but i insisted. i went through the entire adoption process and a friend of mine helped me go get him. i put him in the bathroom and he went straight behind the toilet where he stayed for about 2 weeks except to come out to use the litter box and eat. and slowly play. he then moved to the bathtub. progress! eventually he got more and more comfortable and now he is all over my studio apartment.

nothing will replace emma and i never wanted to replace her with attucus. he is his own cat and his own being and its a new chapter in my life. im going through a lot right now but im so grateful that on im this part of my journey with such an amazing companion.