Today is my Angel boy's fourth birthday!

He's the only one of my cats whose birthdate I'm sure of, because he was born (along with five lively littermates) in my house. I named all six after characters from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," but all except one of his siblings were given new names by the folks who adopted them. Not Buffy fans, I guess.

I originally planned to rehome all the kittens--it's pretty crowded around here, after all. But during Angel's first vet visit they discovered a heart murmur, and I decided he would stay with me until his prognosis was clearer. By the time it became apparent that he would be OK, there was no way I could let him go.

Angel isn't really a people cat, although he loves to climb onto my shoulders and roll around right after I take a shower and put on clean clothes. But he adores other cats! He sits at the window and mews when stray cats are in the yard--I'm sure he wants me to bring them inside to play! He's a sweet, playful boy and I love him very much.

Happy birthday, then, to Angel--and to littermates Riley, Pistol, Boo, Bliss, and Toby.

Here's the birthday boy checking out his birthday catnip mouse: