Yes, those bad memories do fade, though the first few weeks with the new cats, I found myself flinching when they came near. So I did the right thing . . . just wished it had turned out different. Sigh.

Post on the new boys coming tomorrow! Enough sadness!

Scratches heal, bad memories fade. I’m glad you’ve shared with us here–and that you’ll write into that book about naughty pets–the stories and pictures forever etched into your heart.

We take animals into our homes knowing they will break our hearts later . . . this one broke mine sooner.

So good to hear Atticus will be in a book! Now he’ll be immortalized. Maybe your time with him was just for this purpose, and it was time for him to move on.

Two new boys? Now that’s exciting.

We haven’t bred much into cats except to turn up for regular meals. They aren’t all loyal and certainly not kind. But we crave their beauty and individuality.

Writing this post was so hard. It was as if Atticus walked through a door dragging all the grief and sadness of the past six years that had nothing to do with him. It’s the small things that get us, I guess.

He will be in a book! In a National Geographic chapter book in their Naughty Animals series! It’ll be out this fall (with my photos, and my photo on the cover, not of Atticus but of the “terrible terrier” in the lead story). I cried the whole time I wrote this post and edited the photos.

But! Next post will introduce not one, but two new boys. The adventure continues . . .