It's Ramona ... and Toby

If you had told me years ago that I would be one of those people who devotes a page of her Web site to her cat, I would have rolled my eyes and protested. That was before I found Ramona, a knotted ball of white fluff, at an animal shelter somewhere in Indiana. After a harrowing ride home in a cardboard box, a hasty bath, and a strategic trim later, she emerged the exquisite specimen we know today. And now, some moving images of mother and child.




Jamie and I adopted Toby (then known as Bandit) in April 2005. I spied him at a local pet store, went up to the cage to pet him, and he immediately thrust his toothy, Groucho Marx-esque face into my hand. Some of his favorite pastimes were opening bureau drawers, naptime with Jamie, head-butting, stealing our places on the sofa, and being long. His aliases were Bobo, Bobonator, Tobias, Toby Larone, Toblerone, Lumpy, Boy, Guyum, and Mister Dude (among others).

We were Toby's lucky parents for three and a half years. He was (about) six.