Something that you do not know about me is that I have two cats: Fletcher and Luke. Both cats are between a year and a half and two years old. Fletcher is obese and last year, my roommate and I paid $800 to get some stones removed from his bladder. Apparantly, without that surgery (which we happened to be just in time for), his bladder would have blown up and he would have died. Well, since the de-clogging, he has commenced eating at a voracious rate. When I start walking to the downstairs bathroom (where his food bowl is) he is one step ahead of me, bounding down the stairs to get there before me, peering into the bowl as I fill it. When we give he and Luke treats, we have to guard Luke so that Fletcher doesn't steal his treat, too. We realize that his bad habits of eating everything in sight, and then some, are hurting his overall health but we don't know how to have him diet. Its hard since we own two cats, and not just one.

Luke, on the other hand, is incredibly normal. He has silky, dark gray hair and he eats a normal amount of food. The thing about Luke is that he is terrified of humans - actually, of all things. Sometimes, he is even freaked out when Lindsay (my roommate) and I enter a room. On Sunday mornings, when I'm at home eating breakfast or getting ready, he is frequently strolling around, crying. Like a baby, the only thing that will appease him is being held. Actually, both cats are quite a bit unlike cats. Fletcher plays fetch with his favorite kind of noise-making ball or a piece of yellow ribbon. Luke likes to be held like a baby and to have his stomach stroked. Both cats can sit up like humans with their feet sticking out in front of them and their paws resting on their stomachs.

I will miss Fletcher and Luke when I leave for Italy. They will belong to my roommate from now on so I doubt I'll ever spend much time with them again, but having a pet is a great thing - ever loyal and sweet and loving.