Meet my reading partner. Yes, she's a cat.

Today I will be sharing the story of how we got Lily, my little shadow and partner in crime. Don't let her beautiful blue eyes fool you, she gets into mischief every single day.

She isn't just with me when I'm reading, she literally follows me everywhere I go. She is a snuggler too, and always needs my undivided attention. As a matter of fact, she is currently mad and biting me right now because the laptop is in my lap, so she can't have me all to herself. She's also attempting to bite the laptop. Lily takes her snuggle time very seriously. She has been fussing at me all morning for her snuggle time. I love her to pieces. She's clearly very needy, but we have that in common, so I'm okay with it.

Let me tell you the story from the beginning. My husband spotted Lily at the local animal shelter. We call him "the cat whisperer" because he has this uncanny ability to spot a good cat from a mile away. I was looking for a cat at the time, especially a "lap cat," and he knew she'd be one. He sent me a photo of her, and I was immediately in love. However, she was sick at the time and couldn't leave the shelter yet. She had a serious upper respiratory infection. They were treating her, and she seemed to get a little bit better, but other kittens started getting sick too. They felt the best thing was to get her out of the shelter and away from the other cats, and I agreed. So we picked up poor Lily all sick and snotty and with vials of medicine to treat her at home. I'm not going to lie, she looked rough when we picked her up. But I knew all she needed was my TLC. And that medicine, which she took without a fuss. My cousin saw a photo of her and described her as a "traumatized marshmallow" and that was the best and most accurate description I can think of. You can see for yourself, the poor little thing.

Her little eyes were always runny those first few weeks, and she was constantly sneezing. But she was a sweetheart from the beginning. We cuddled, I pet her all the time, and that's when I messed up and spoiled her rotten. All she had to do was meow once and she was getting pets and snuggles. So she still meows at me now until I pick her up. But she needed the love!

I also gave her wet food, dry food, kitten milk, treats, the works. I nursed her back to health with food and love, and she already looked like a brand new kitten after just a week or two. As you can also see in the next photo! She still had wet eyes, but her fur even looked better. And she was such a sweetie.

What I have never understood about Lily though, is that as much as she loves me, she loves my husband more. And I'm the one who does everything for her! And was her personal nurse! But she will always prefer him to me. Example: if she's sitting in my lap, getting pets and purring, if she spots him coming into the room, she will immediately leave me to go be with him. No hesitation. I know she still loves me too, so I try not to be offended. But still. My theory is that it's because she met him first that day at the shelter and remembers him as the one who rescued her.

To the left is a photo of her at around the 6 month mark. She is beautiful! That's her favorite toy, a little stuffed sloth. She still sleeps with it! It was amazing to see her grow from that "marshmallow" into a healthy, pretty cat. And those eyes! I promise you that the first photo of her is not photo shopped or filtered, her eyes are just simply that blue. She's gorgeous and you better believe she knows it. That's how she gets away with so much around here!

That's Lily's story, but it continues to unfold. Stick around the blog, and you might see more of her adventures. From both Lily and me, enjoy your reading!