[McD NYC]

I was pet-less until I found a girlfriend. And then she became a fiancé and moved in. With her came her cat: “Lenny”.  Her adopted, shorthaired American house cat. The problem was that I’ve been allergic to cats my entire life, and have had an aversion to them since being nearly assassinated by two Siamese cats when I was just ten years old.

Well, it’s been absolutely awesome.  He actually kind of thinks he’s a dog.  He meets you at the door when you come in, comes when you call his name, and is an incessant wagger of that lugubrious tail of his.  And since I work from home — and I’m here 80% of the time, while he’s here 99% of the time, Leonard and I not only have learned to co-exist but we’ve entered into a very rewarding limited partnership agreement.  As long as I make sure he gets fed in the morning and the evening, play with him a little during the day (with everything from bottle cap hockey pucks to the ridiculous rastafarian colored scarf toy he will chase forever as long as I continue to flick it at him), and let him jump on my lap at 4 PM everyday (without fail) we have become inseparable — and best friends.  With a cat no less!  He can be a distraction, an accomplice, a comfort, an anchor, and some days make a good day even better –  while he’s also able to make a bad day into one that is not quite as bad as I think it is.

Mom is still number one of course – even if he does make a habit of expressing our bromance by jumping up into my lap first when she and I come into the apartment together.  He just gives her that look that says, “Don’t worry my love – I’m just contractually obligated to do this… but I’ll be all yours shortly… I promise…).  And when she is home he’s smart enough to make sure attention is appropriately paid.  I mean come on, she is his mom after all

His mom and I haven’t set a date yet, though it will be a lovely, small, intimate affair – and it’s also definitely going to be the event to be at in 2018.  Though Lenny won’t be able to make it.  But the after-party?  He wouldn’t miss it for the world.  And I would definitely miss him too if he wasn’t part of my brave, new world as I navigate through the ups and downs of this disease.