Ho! Another Big-footed, double-pawed black cat! I say "another" because the black cat that I sometimes refer to is also double-pawed. That is why his full name is "Jim Slim Many Toes." He has all kinds of toes - in fact, I have never been able to count them all, because his feet tend not to stay still when one turns them over and tries to count.

If Junior brings as much joy and with his black fur shines so bright a light into your lives as Jim does ours, then you are in for a grand time. I envy your 13 year-old. Would that I had such a grand cat at the age of 13, but I grew up in a catless home.

As you can tell, life was hard back then... really, really, hard... no cat.

How the hell did I survive?

Best wishes to the cat and the kid!

Oh - by the way, the black cat is curled up atop his "cat tree," sleeping, just to my side and I am actually sitting in my chair tonight. Sometimes, he can be pretty generous and downright self-sacrificing.