Do you know how hard it is to take a photo of a black cat? I took 58 photos this evening with my dSLR and this is the only one that is in decent focus. God forbid she squint so that I can't focus on her eyeball.

It's a good exercise in slowing my breathing and staying still. Thankfully, Ms Kitty is getting older and willing to sit still for long periods of time as my model. I would drag out a flash, but all the hubbub would surely cause her to leave. If you ever see a wall calendar of black cats, buy it just to support the efforts those photographers have gone to for those images.

I'm worried about my cat. She's 15 and a half years old and she's getting frail. She only weighs a slight eight pounds which seems like a feather compared to our two other beefcake 14 pounder cats. Granted, she's missing a leg, so that might contribute to a few missing ounces, but overall she seems gaunt. Her fur is getting a little ratty too.

Ms Kitty has always been my cat. Only in her later years has she bothered to interact with anyone else but me. While I was pregnant I would practice putting her in one of the ring slings and carting her around the house for an hour. She would happily snuggle up in there, purring away. I suppose I should be happy she weighs so little since it's less strain on my arms and back.

We're getting to the stage of cat ownership where I worry about her, though. I want her to be in good health. I don't want the other cats to mess with her (I literally just had to push Tobias away to keep him from batting her tail).

But she seems happy. She purred the entire time I was doing our little cardboard box photo shoot. And she's currently draped across my left forearm as I type this. I just love my beautiful black cat.