I often think that my love for cats stemmed from two felines I had while growing up. The first, a laid-back Siamese cat, was purchased just after I was born. The second, a fun-loving black cat, appeared at our back door when I was 7 years old and quickly became part of the family. I spend much of my childhood moving from place to place around the world. from Singapore to Venezuela, we brought our cats everywhere that we moved. Sometimes we had to send them ahead of us while other times we carried them in little kitty carriers right on the plane. I loved those cats...a lot. While living in Singapore, when I was about 9 years old, the black cat very suddenly disappeared. My family was heartbroken. He was so well-natured and friendly that his presence quickly became missed. Years later, when I was just about 15 years old, my Siamese cat died of kidney failure while we lived in Venezuela. I was devastated. Since she was brought into our family not long after I was born, I never remembered not having that cat by my side.

I still miss them both to this day. I've always had this urge to get a male black cat and a female Siamese. It would be like my childhood all over again. But really, in the end, no other cats could take the place of the first pets I ever had in my life.