Dexter the Tabby is Four!

Monday was Dexter's fourth birthday! Happy birthday, Dexter!

My husband says maybe we have to stop calling him "kitten" now. But I don't agree with that. No matter how big he gets, he will always be my baby!

I remember clearly the day that my sister e-mailed me to tell me the kittens were coming. She lives in the Harrisburg area, and takes care of numerous cat colonies in the city. One of her favorite kitties, JR, had come inside and was about to give birth in a box she and a friend had set up in his living room.

My sister played midwife as three healthy and adorable little tabby boys - all with white feet - were born. She named them Winken, Blinken, and Odd. Winken and Blinken looked almost identical; Odd looked slightly different.

A month or two later, I visited my sister and met the tabby boys - as she called them, the "Itty Bitty City Kitty Gang" - and selected the one (Odd, now renamed Dexter) who would come home to live with me.

My husband (not quite husband yet) and I brought Dexter home with us during a thunderstorm on a June night. I remember the lightning and the thunder crashing all around us, as we made the two-hour drive home, the kitten initially crying in the back seat, then sleeping the rest of the way.

As coincidence would have it, this year Dexter's birthday fell on a Monday when I was able to work at home. So the biggest gift I was able to give him was the gift of my presence. Dexter is a very sociable, people-oriented cat. He was very glad to have me home!

Here were a few of Dexter's birthday treats:

-Wet food for almost every meal of the day, including a favorite flavor, grilled tuna
-Cat treats, several kinds, both soft and crunchy varieties
-A fresh floofy rattly mouse - yes, I even let him chew the tail off it! - his very most favorite part!
-Lots of "blankie time" spent curled up under a soft blanket on the bed, with me working nearby throughout the day
-Outdoor time on the front porch in my arms, listening to and watching the birds
-Games with and brushing by "the Dad" (chase the red ball, attack the floofy mouse)
-Special snuggle time with me in the evening, as I watched a movie on the TV in the bedroom, with Dexter curled up against my leg, purring, snuggled under the blankets with me

It was a very good day. :-) Happy birthday, Dexter, and here's to many more!