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Southern Tier Life / July 2021 / ISSUE 005
I may be single but, make no mistake, my bed is always full! As the proud servant to four fur babes – three cats and a dog – I sleep with a variety of sexes and species nightly. I feel bad for those who experienced loneliness throughout the pandemic – hours of solitude and … serenity? Heck, the only time I was alone this past year was the rare occasion I had to go into the office since I worked remotely most of the time. My pandemic experience highlighted how much MORE tending to my overlords I can accomplish when my commute time is eliminated. While I’ve enjoyed working from home for the past year, there have been adjustments. Instead of one supervisor looking over my shoulder, I had THREE felines overseeing my activi-
ties. Actually, they were more job hinderers than helpers, constantly trying to “help” me type on the keyboard and breaking into my virtual meetings for impromptu serenades. Those of you familiar with my Star-Gazette columns may recall my support of the Chemung County S.P.C.A.,
Vibing w/Cat White
and other area animal shelters. After leaving the newspaper I co-organized several benefits with current Chemung S.P.C.A. board member Roger Laughlin, whenever and wherever I could. I was raised with cats and have lived with them from the moment I first
drew breath. When I was born my mom had a tabby named Annie who only liked my mom. She would hiss and spit at everybody else and, I’m pretty sure, that’s where I developed my appreciation of personal space. Innumerable cats followed. Mostly strays that were welcomed in by us
kids’ open arms and my mom’s exhaustion as a single working mother of three. In addition to the two to six cats that “ruled the roost” in our three-bedroom Hoffman Plaza apartment growing up, my siblings and I spent a good chunk of time at our babysitter’s. She always had two dogs that went almost everywhere with her.
She also had at least one cat, a rabbit and a turtle in her home daycare. Then, after earning her master’s, my babysitter opened a chain of daycare centers called Over the Rainbow and each location had a variety of small pets – resident cats, guinea pigs, turtles, etc. When I first moved out on my own,
