Meet Gary

Every so often I get to perusing the local animal shelter websites, looking at cats that I refuse to let myself adopt. I have a rule: cat to human ratio must be 2 cats per human in my household or the Crazy Cat Lady threshold has been breached. I will not cross that line. (Until I'm like, 50 and have totally given up on ever getting married. Then it's up for renegotiation.) Instead, I'm going to occasionally feature a cat that I think is adorable.

Handsome Gary, all snuggled up.

Meet Gary.

He's currently hanging out at the Smitten Kitten here in Des Moines. Since Smitten Kitten is pretty much the best cat store ever, of course I've been in and actually met Gary. He's a sweet old guy and still pretty spry for his age. I would have never guessed he was 16! He would be a great beginner cat since he's already grown and learned proper feline habits. He has a food sensitivity to chicken, but other than that, he's a healthy man cat who will probably live for many more years.

This *is* his happy face.

Gary could pretty much be a brother to Captain Picard. Except, Gary isn't an asshole like Picard. Honestly, if I could trade Picard in for Gary, I would. But I'd feel to guilty about it, so I haven't done it.

Since Gary is an older guy, you could talk to the folks at Furry Friends about becoming a foster. I've heard they do perma-foster situations for some older cats who don't do so well in shelter situations. But there's no adoption fee for him, so that's pretty fantastic too!