I have a cat. I have had cats since I graduated from college and a friend showed up at my apartment door with a small bag and asked if I could take care of it. I looked inside the bag and it was a tiny kitten, rescued by my friend.
She couldn’t care for the animal since she had three adult cats of her own. So I told her I would babysit the cat until she found another owner.
Well, that cat lived with me for 20 years. Her brother who was rescued the next day and eventually moved in with my parents, lived to be 22. I called her Phred (I was very clever wasn’t I, using Ph like Phyllis instead of F). Annie lives with us now.
Phred liked to sit on the front porch of my apartment and watch the world go by. Occasionally she would hide under one of the bushes and chase bugs and birds. She caught plenty of bugs (and about a dozen mice), but never a bird -- thank goodness.
One day my husband and I were going somewhere and when I went outside to bring in the cat, she was no where to be found. We had to leave, so we left the cat outside, sure she would be safe while we were gone.
When we returned, she was waiting for us on the porch. Meowing loudly and pacing back and forth, I thought she was glad to see us. We opened the door and she immediately charged inside, making a beeline for the litter box. The world could have been her bathroom, but she chose the privacy of her own.
My cats have provided the inspiration for many a story. Let me know about some of the crazy things your pets have done.

I have been in the newspaper business for more than 25 years, and some people might say I’ve seen it all. Well, I can tell you -- I haven’t seen anywhere near one quarter of it. That’s what makes this job so interesting.
But I’ve sure seen a lot. Take as an example the guy who wanted me to take a photo of an albino fish he caught in the Brandywine. He had it in his car he told me. So I grabbed my camera and walked out of the building to his car and could immediately tell something was fishy with the situation. It turns out, he caught the fish three days before and didn’t refrigerate it. It was August!
I began writing columns back in the late 1980s as a way to introduce myself to the community, writing about the people and things that interest me and make Chester County such a great place to live.
So now I’m moving into a whole new area for me.Now all my friends and family members will be able to read what I’m writing about them -- no matter where they live.