April 23, 2004. Well, we've just had a lovely time celebrating my very first birthday today. Never mind that I was a lost kitty and didn't come with a birth certificate. When Miss Jerrianne first took me to see my veterinarian, he checked me over and decided I must be about five months old ... so he wrote April 23 on my chart. Done!

Well, we could have fudged a bit ... and celebrated a couple of days earlier with Queen Elizabeth, who turned 78 last Wednesday, or waited a couple a couple more days and celebrated with Miss Jerrianne's sister-in-law, Mia Nelson, who wrote in The Bulletin about her goatpacking adventure with Wylie and Arbor. An earlier idea of celebrating my birthday with Arbor on Arbor Day just didn't work out ... Arbor Day comes much earlier in Oregon than it does in Alaska, where it isn't observed until May.

Then we learned, from my favorite vet ... who sends me presents from Connecticut and lives too far away to make me suffer inoculations and other indignities ... that April 23 is a very special day in his native England because it's the birthday of Mr. William Shakespeare, who is considered the greatest playwright who ever lived ... and of St. George, the patron saint of England, who is famous for slaying a dragon. I'll wish Mia and my favorite vet Happy Birthday on Sunday, and I'll stick with today.

A kitty's first birthday is very special, because that's when a kitten becomes a cat ... sort of like turning 21 for people, I guess. And there have been big changes: now that I've gone from 5 pounds to 8 pounds, my harness was just a bit too snug, even though I've maintained my svelte shape with a trim little waist. So Miss Jerrianne found an adjustable harness that's more comfortable. Then she strapped my Celltei pouch to a set of luggage wheels with bungee cords and -- voila! -- it's a stroller. Now when we go outside for walks, I have wheels under me. Very cool!

I've given up sleeping in my "crib" and just find a comfortable spot on the bed. Miss Jerrianne stopped buying kitten food quite recently. She buys me grown up cat food now ... and last week she bought a little tub of wheat grass at the store. I'll mow my grass indoors, but we'll still have the lawn service mow the outside grass. I'm happy about that ... as it's way too much lawn mowing for one little kitty cat!

So ... my birthday celebration began with an e-card from Miss Hetty and the staff of The Bulletin. I loved it! I jumped up on Miss Jerrianne's lap when the music began and I watched all the critters get their ice cream cones. I wanted to step up on the keyboard and walk right up to the screen for a lick of the kitty cat's ice cream cone. That didn't work out, but if you don't go after what you want, why you'll just never know!

Then, to my surprise, I got a birthday cake! Real sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries and a candle on top! When I reached out to sample the whipped cream, the candle singed my eyebrows! Whew! I love whipped cream, but I decided I'd better let Miss Jerrianne blow out the candle for me. We worked out a deal: she opened the new bag of kitty treats for me and she ate the strawberries and cake.

And there was more! New bouncy balls and a catnip mouse with a very long tail ... on a stick, so Miss Jerrianne can go fishing for cats ... that's me! She must think I'm a catfish! But the best was still to come. She went to the refrigerator, opened the catnip jar and tossed me a very cool mouse ... very realistic ... with real mouse hide! I love real mouse fur mousies! I chased this one all over the house for hours.

This has been a swell birthday! I chased my new mouse behind the broom and it fell over with a thunderous crash. No harm done. I chased it through my tunnels and fished it out of my pizza box. I chased it under the stove and had to get Miss Jerrianne to fish it out with the flashlight and her long green tomato stake three times. I've kept close watch so it doesn't get lost ... though I think I saw TWO MORE mousies from my favorite vet in the catnip jar. If I count my wealth in toy mice (and I do), I am rich, indeed!

Many thanks to all who helped make my birthday such a wonderful day.