Speckles was 10 when I adopted her 8 years ago. It was from a family that could not keep her because they were moving and travelled too much.

The very day she came home, she settled into one of the living room chairs and claimed it as her own. She still sleeps there during the day.

My little girl has been such a blessing because she knows my moods so well. Her meow is really more of a sqeak and sometimes she's so gentle that she opens her mouth to meow and nothing comes out. She purrs up a storm in bed and loves to crawl underneath the covers on cool nights.

She's also very dainty and clean with her litterbox habits and never misses the target.

Even though Speckles does not like to be held or brushed, that makes no difference to me. She's not a lap cat but loves to curl up really close to me. She never used to like her tummy rubbed, but now that she's "matured" I can rub her belly all I want.

To be honest, kittens and young cats don't fit into my quiet lifestyle. I enjoy not being woken up at 3am with "let's play." I enjoy the fact that the cats get up when I get up and not before. I will always be adopting older kitties.