Delight

My cat Jasmine, we fostered her from 1.5 weeks old and fell in love with her as soon as we laid eyes on her.

Smudge (left) took to protecting Jasmine (right) as soon as he met her. She is kind of a little terror though, so she used his own concern to trap him into playing with her. They love just sleeping next to each other all day.

My husband Eric and I and our cat Jasmine having a pandemic Christmas in our home. Every year we try to coax Smudge out to be in the family photo, but he is to shy.

My cat Smudge is such a gentle boy. I adopted him after he was abandoned on the steps of an animal rescue in a crate. He took a year or so to come fully out of his shell after that but now he is as happy as can be, if still a little timid and jumpy, and he loves to snuggle and keep me on my routine.

Smudge (white) and Jasmine (beige) are such good friends. I have never seen two cats who live together get along so well. Jasmine is almost 10 years younger than Smudge so I think she sees him as a big brother/father cat. Its so cute.

My husband Eric has been a tremendous source of love, inspiration, and support throughout my life. We met on a school program when I was 14 and he was 15 and started dating shortly after, now almost 15 years later we are still in love and still challenging each other to grow as artists. Eric is a man of many talents, but started work as a watchmaker and now does machining and invents in his free time.

One thing that makes me supremely happy is seeing people care for things that need care. When our cat was a kitten she had a respiratory issue and struggled to gain weight. Eric put his heart and soul into caring for her and ensuring that she survived, and through his care she and he developed a lifelong bond that is heartwarming to see.