Sixteen Kitty Paws: Stella...a princess and she knows it

Stella is the original member of my furry family, the first and for many years the baby and the only one who commanded my attention at all times. She was the centre of the universe, and she was fine with that. I swear, there are times when she gives me looks like simply say "are you freaking kidding me? why am I not the only one anymore???".

The day Stella came into our lives I will remember well. My boyfriend at the time and I had talked about getting a cat. I'd always had one (though he was a little less enthusiastic) the house just felt empty. I remember that morning having the conversation that I'd never pay hundreds of dollars for a cat when there was so many that needed homes. Famous last words.

I really have no idea how we ended up at the pet store later that day, I think it was a mix of boredom and possibly being gluttons for punishment...but there we were and there she was. Don't even ask me what possessed us to think we should hold her. A 12-week old Himalayan...if you have not had the pleasure...is one of the cutest things on earth. She weighed maybe a pound, but looked so much bigger and kind of like a marshmallow. We held her, and we were screwed. I won't go into how much we paid for her that day, but lets just say, it was quite a bit.

Stella the day we brought her home.

Also soon after we brought her home.

And so, 8 years later, she is my original baby and knows that. I swear if she could get the other three run over by some kind of heavy machinery she would orchestrate it herself. Amazingly she has learned to tolerate the other three furry creatures in her life - not that she has much of a choice. Roo particularly really wants her to like him, and boy does he keep trying to make that happen.

Of the four of them, she insists on eating on the table when they get a treat, too good to be among the lowly creatures that eat on the floor. When I tried to get rid of the upstairs litter box and just have two downstairs, she showed me and just used the carpet instead. For as long as she's been around, she follows me when I come home from work waiting until I sit or lie down so she can lie with me.

Note the placement. Stella does not eat on the floor.

If you're not familiar with the breed, they're supposed to be quite large cats, something we both looked forward to when we brought her home. Apparently she never got the memo, she still looks like a kitten, and weighs about 5lbs. Her fur makes her actual size deceiving, you expect to be picking up a cat with some weight to it, but it is not so, there really is nothing to her.