I’m a dog person...who owns a cat...who acts like a dog.

I can still recall days when I was really young literally begging my parents for a dog. Their response was to fill my stuffed animal collection with as many canines as humanly possible, which I suppose I didn’t really mind, but when it came to bringing a real, live animal into our home, the closest I got for a long time was a frog and a few fish.

So when a small family of stray cats appeared in our unused barn one day, I took it upon myself to care for the little felines even though I’m allergic to cats and still wanted a dog. Barn cats, as you may know, have a tendency to multiply though, and a couple of years later, as I entered high school, a little ball of orange and white fluff we named Lilly quickly became my favorite.

In the early days, when she was still somewhere under six months old, I’d bring her into the house on Sunday afternoons and she’d lay down on top of me and snooze while I watched whatever old movie happened to be on TV that day. It was a good routine for us, and as time went on, she stayed inside longer and longer until one day she just didn’t go back out. And thus, I snuck my little cat in through the backdoor and convinced my parents to keep her, even though the rest of the barn cats stayed outside.

Now, roughly seven years later, Lilly, who’s full name is Lillybelle (where that name came from is a story for another day), still shares my bedroom and adjoining bathroom, although some days I wonder if it’s more her bedroom than mine. She has a tendency to wake me up in the middle of the night by knocking items from my desk onto the floor and likes to hide in my closet for fear that I’ll lock her out of my room in favor of getting a bit of sleep, but her cuteness sort of makes up for it all.

And that’s the thing about cats. I never expected to have one, but now I wouldn’t know what to do without her because she brings so much joy to everyone, except maybe anyone she begs for food or terrifies by jumping onto their shoulder. And like I said, she acts like a dog too, wagging her tail constantly, rushing to the door the second anyone walks through, begging continuously for table scraps. If she didn’t meow so much you might actually believe she’s the wrong animal.

But we love her anyway, and I can’t wait to head home and spend time with her soon.