Greetings cat lovers, from Oregon!

Hello!

My name is AJ Balkin, and I am a cat lover.

Yes, I cannot get enough of them. It's not that I am crazy for cats - no, I don't have thirty cats filling all the nooks and shelves of my one bedroom apartment. But I do love them, in all their domestic and wild varieties.

And I especially love my house cat, Charlie, who is a rescued flame point Siamese.

I loved cats before Charlie. When I would visit friends that had cats, I would make it a point to show my own cautious love - as to not suddenly startle them with my affection - and thus cats loved me. I don't just pick them up and plop them on my lap, as they are scratching and meowing trying to get free. No, my approach was always simple: offer a finger to smell, a leg to rub, a quick and gentle finger along the ridge of the chin.

Cats are independent creatures, they say. And they really are - ultimately, they could care less about this civilization and all its fated glories, triumphs, and downfalls: their only concern is their own well-being, satisfaction, and pleasure.

But when a cat comes into your life, things change for both sides. The endearing and trying months of kitten-hood reveal a creature with an unlimited tenacity and capacity for giving and receiving love. Your heart opens, and the cat can't help but come and curl up in your lap for a snuggle and a scratch. You have to treat her to all the envious things that could possibly dwell in the cat's heart: salmon, cat towers, morning scratches. 

I love my cat, and I hope to be an engaged member of this forum.

Thank you

AJ Balkin