As most of you know, Munchkin is our cat. She does not get much written about her and since she is a pretty unassuming kitty, that seems to suit her just fine. However, everyone deserves to have their birthday celebrated and despite her meows of protest I wanted to let everyone know that this is her special day. At least we think so. Like our Pug rescues, Munchkin's actual birth date is a mystery to us.

I vividly remember that cold January morning when we found her outside under our porch. I was living with my brother Mark and he was actually the one that found her. He was late to work that morning because he stayed to coax her out from under our front porch. He brought her in and we put in her a box with a blanket. She was so tiny! It was obvious she was no more than 6 or 8 weeks old. We never saw her siblings or mother. We don't know if she wandered off or if she was left behind by her mother but either way we knew she wouldn't survive in the icy North Carolina weather on her own. So we brought her in with the plan to find her a home. All my co-workers teased me that she wasn't going anywhere despite my insistence that we weren't keeping her. Of course she won me over and soon I knew I couldn't let her go. I named her Munchkin because she was so tiny. One of my biggest regrets is that I failed to take photos when she was little. Kitten-hood passed by so quickly. Thankfully I have been much better about photos in the past few years and I now have quite a collection of her. This is one of my favorites:

It brings back so many memories. It is of her sleeping in the spare bedroom at our home in Sonning, England. She would sleep on the bed because Charlie couldn't jump up and chase her and it was right behind my desk so she was near me. When she felt like exploring she would cross over to the window and jump out onto the roof. From there she would jump into the tree and climb down into the garden. The first time I saw her do that my heart stopped, but she has always been heartier than I have given her credit for. She has made the Trans-Atlantic crossing twice (once by plane and once by ocean liner) as well as numerous cross-country moves. When I worked as a travel nurse taking 3-month contracts at a time she would always make the move with me, quietly sleeping in her carrier as I drove down the interstate. She always adapted well and made anyplace we moved into her home.

Even when she had to learn to live with a dog (and a Daddy) she was amazingly tolerant.

Introducing a puppy to the mix proved interesting, but still she remained pretty easy-going about the whole thing. Now every time we bring a rescue into the house she just looks at me as if to say "Another one? Don't we have enough?" but she tolerates the sniffing like a pro.

I love her so much. She has been with me through incredible highs and devastating lows throughout the years. I cannot imagine my life without her. As she is now in her senior years I try to cherish the time we have together. She means more to me than she will ever know. Happy birthday Munchkin-face!