The Beast

As far back as I can remember, my family has always had a cat, and while we did have a dog or two along the way, felines were omnipresent. At one point when I was young, our family had 3 adult cats and 6 kittens, which caused my mother a lot of grief.

After losing our beloved Himalayan in 2006, his companion grew depressed and stopped eating. Enter Oliver, pictured here. Part Turkish Van, savior of Sophie, and the most neurotic animal I have ever had the pleasure to parent.

He sees things that no human eye can fathom, speaks in a voice reminiscent of the pooch on "Blue's Clues", loves to sit on the top of doors, and I'm sorry to say, stalks his own shadow. As you can see, poor Oliver has discovered a foreboding creature in his beloved morning sunbeam.

Just as he was about to pounce, the sound of my iPhone camera distracted him, and he decided to roll around in the sun instead. The perfect definition of a "scaredy cat!"