Cat in a basket

This is Manny. He's sort of a miracle cat, as you'll soon see.

He joined my household in 2004 when I already owned a Cardigan Welsh Corgi dog named Sherman, and two other cats, Kirby and Jazzy. I don't remember what prompted me to adopt another cat that winter but I am so glad I did. He brightened up a household that at the time was threatened to be overwhelmed by sadness.

My husband had moved out in the summer of 2003 and while I was functional, that was about all that I was. My youngest child, Beth, was still at home and though I doubted her, she told me she was "fine." After all, she could see her father whenever she wanted to and call him anytime. Her schedule had not changed. She was dancing and being a junior in high school, which kept her very busy. She was not exhibiting any real sadness that I could see. Or anger. While I was struggling with figuring out how to best live my life, and grieving, I was also trying to get her to open up to me about her feelings about all of this, something she resolutely refused to do. I had to take her at her word.

The change I saw in Beth after Manny joined the family opened my eyes to how affected she had been by having to be the one person left at home to deal with a very sad mom. She became "lighter." A 16 year old who was smiling. It was wonderful to see.

Beth is the one who named him. We have a tradition of naming our cats after favorite baseball players. Kirby (after Kirby Puckett of the Twins) was a revered member of the family for 17 years. So, Manny had little choice but to be named after Manny Ramirez, Beth's favorite player (at the time). When she's frustrated at the baseball player, she says that his name is Mani, short for Manicotti.

He’s very affectionate, often seeking out affection, in the manner of a dog. Many cats are aloof and reserved, but he insists on being with me wherever I am in the house, and if he's outside when I come home from work, he runs to meet me, then walks to and fro in front of me, checking to see if I am still following behind him. He loves to be outside with me when I do yard work.

He is a mighty hunter. He’ll bring down squirrels and rabbits bigger than he is. He wears a collar with a bell because I was tired of finding bits and pieces of rabbits, squirrels, mice, voles and birds on my front porch. As much as he loves to be outside, I try to keep him in when the birds are nesting and teaching their young to fly.

When I first brought Manny home, he was afraid of the dog I then owned, Sherman, a Cardigan Welsh Corgi. (That's where Cardigirl comes from.) By the second month of living with us, Sherman was Manny's dog. He would run up to greet her whenever she came in the door. (yes Sherman was a girl.) Eventually, because my other cats would not allow Manny to sleep with them, he started to sleep on top of Sherman. First the dog would go to sleep. Then Manny would climb up on top of her and curl up. I guess the cat was light enough that he didn't wake the dog when he curled up on top of her. It is one of my biggest disappointments that I did not have a working camera when this was going on. It was so cute it hurt.

When Sherman passed away, Manny mourned her for a long time. He would look for her in all of her usual places. Eventually, he began to sleep curled up next to me. He never slept with me before Sherman died. After I go to sleep, Manny comes in the room and curls up behind my knees. I often wake finding I have been pushed to the edge of the bed as the cat has taken over.

Because Beth and I adopted this cat together, we have become closer. For a long while, we were not able to communicate well, (mothers and daughters, sigh) but Manny gives us a mutual subject and a safe place to start conversations. And for me, Manny has made my life brighter as well. Any cat who can salve the relationship between a daughter and her mom is a miracle cat. He was the first step in my "new" life that led me to think that I would be fine.