Magical Cat Armpits

My sweet kitty Melody (1996-2014) was the feline love of my life and the first cat I adopted on my own; with Amir's encouragement, I selected her from a litter of rescued kittens at a shelter in West Hollywood. When I saw her curled silently in a ball in the back corner of a cage full of bouncy, mewling crazies, I knew immediately she was the one. Amir was among the first people I called when I got her home: he knew I was nervous about taking on the responsibility of cat ownership with my busy work and school schedule and he offered gentle reassurance that I'd made a good decision. (One of the best of my life, I can still attest.)

Mel was extremely attached to me and could be fickle and aloof when it came to accepting love or attention from other people. But she tolerated Amir. When he'd visit and approach her with a toy, her wee kitty brain thought "Playmate!" as opposed to "Get the fuck away from me." Amir's former girlfriend once referred to him as the "Cat Whisperer" and the moniker was truly fitting. He had a gentle, easy way with animals in general--and cats specifically--that was sweet and heartwarming. All of our family pets adored him.

Said former girlfriend once sent me an email with the subject line: "Amir has magical cat armpits," along with this photo of him with their newly adopted bundle of energy, Milo. She noted that, while Milo was affectionate with her as well, he would cuddle up and sleep only with Amir.

In that email, she also mentioned that "All cats love to sleep inside his arm," which was true of Neko as well, even in the presence of other people who threatened to disrupt the undivided attention lavished on her by her master/slave. (This is a cat we're talking about.)

Befitting and necessary of cat owners, Amir also had a great sense of humor regarding his feline housemates. He derived a lot of joy and amusement from their hijinks and he often sent hilarious emails updating me on their various exploits and adventures, often with photos. One excerpt:

"The cats have increased their activity level to the occasional chase game at 3AM, followed by 17 hours of napping and intermittent grooming. I would say they are useless pieces of shit if they weren't so damned cute. Neko also takes pride in her ability to puke on the bedspread twice a week. She clearly has body image issues."

I'm missing my favorite cat whisperer today, as always.