Happy Birthday Lysander!

Happy Birthday to Lysander.

My feline companion of four years is 6 years old this month. I adopted him while I was living in Mississippi. He had been abused and abandoned in his early years. Lysander was skinny and very fearful, a real "scairdy cat." He has kept company with me, consoled me, and entertained me in four states now. He has accepted Nigel as part of our family (thankfully, as I'd like to keep my husband) and consents to being picked up and cuddled by the new man. Every time we go on a trip and leave Ly with his "grandparents" he gets spoiled worse that what I can do. I am just now getting him used to his normal feeding routine again. When I first got him he wouldn't talk to me; now he is as mouthy as they come. He hid from me in the beginning as well. Now, he won't let one of us out of his sight. He's always under foot, in lap or watching just within reach. When I first found him at the shelter, I was told his name was Fudge. Not good enough. He needed a new name for a new life. A noble name. Lysander is named for three favorites: an ancestor with a name I love (William Lysander Jackson Reid), a lover from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (a favorite play from a favorite playwright), and an ancient Greek naval hero (a favorite subject-history). And with a nod to Nigel's hobby of aviation, add the Westland Lysander (a WWII spy plane). So in this month of black cats, here's to my favorite furry friend. Happy Birthday dear pussy cat!