birthdays Archives

Celebrating My Cats’ Birthdays With Style

There’s something delightfully endearing about throwing a birthday celebration for a cat. It’s not just about cake-shaped toys or sardine soufflés—it’s about honoring the quiet companionship, the mysterious glances, and the absolute rulers of our hearts and homes.

Banner and Balboa- Photo credit Deb Neumann

🐾 The Feline Lineup

In my home, birthdays come in soft purrs and fluffed tails. Each one of my cats has their own personality, style, and yes—preferred party theme.

Banner

Regal Banner

Banner turner 5 this year on June 6. Banner is the big brother. He is also my opera singer. Every night we get the songs of his people with his reedition of Moonlight & Meows. His gift was a Pawkitty Water mat.
Water Mat

This was a dud. What they don’t tell you is it takes a lot of water and water is heavy. I don’t have a hose or an indoor faucet that would allow me to hook one up if I did. I tried to fill it in the sink but the mat was too big. I tried the tub but before I had it more than 1/2 filled it was too heavy to move. Banner watched the tub fiasco with interest but that was as far as we got. No water bed for him this year.
Balboa

Balboa also turns 5 this year. His birthday is coming up in August. August 14 to be exact. Balboa is my lap cat. Where Banner is regal and aloof, Balboa is timid and shy with strangers. Not so with Banner or me. He is my high flying kitty. He likes to be up high and chases toys in leaps and bounds. That includes his big brother. He is also the leader of the demolition team. You’ve heard the expression “This is why we can’t have nice things”. Well that’s Balboa. He is also ridiculously funny.

Balboa photo credit Deb Neumann

Just look at those eyes. You can see the insanity!

🎁 Gifts, Real and Imagine

Their birthday gifts included handmade toys, a new paper bag, a new cat scratcher shaped like a cactus (how fitting, right?), and the ultimate luxury—a nap uninterrupted by vacuum cleaners.

Cactus Cat Tree-

But the real gift was in the ritual. These feline birthdays remind me to slow down, appreciate softness, and indulge in silliness. They ground me in quiet moments and encourage me to create little bits of magic—not because it’s necessary, but because it’s meaningful.

🌙 Looking Ahead

Next year? I’m dreaming of a “Zen & Zoomies” spa retreat for Banner and a pirate-themed tunnel adventure for Balboa. Whatever the plan, it will be theirs—and that’s what makes it purrfect.

Cactus Cat Tree available at Welcominghaven.com

Additional Pet resources can be found on Amazon. I am an Amazon affiliate

It was tempting to just turn around and get back on the plane back to Hawaii when I landed in Providence Saturday night. It was dark and cold. Snow was piled everywhere. I had heard about the 14 – 18 inch snow storm while I was in Maui but I was a long way away from it.

I was wearing my Aloha shirt and digging through my pocket book for my claim ticket for my car when 2 airport police approached.

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They were wearing ski masks and bundled up big time. They stopped by to tease me about my shirt and we chatted about the snow and ice and COLD…brrr.

Eventually I was home greeted by my little fur baby. Sunday was just time to relax, unpack and get ready to return to the real world. I had a birthday on Wednesday. I haven’t paid much attention to birthdays in a long time so I was surprised when one of my co- workers brought me flowers, another left me a message wishing me a happy birthday and then sent more flowers! The office paid for lunch. They even bought a birthday cake!

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Nancy’s kids, Dawn and Alex both have birthdays in February too. For years, since they were just toddlers, we have made it a tradition to get together for a breakfast or brunch to celebrate out 3 birthdays. In the beginning we did it because how do you explain to little kids that one kid gets presents but the other one has to wait? It turned into a tradition to just celebrate them all together.

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This year Nancy & I were both watching our pennies so Nancy suggested we go to Braintree to a place called Kristin’s. Nancy said it had a great reputation.

It’s a little hole in the wall at 349 Washington St, Braintree. Parking is a real problem but eventually we found a spot about a block away. It was a nice day, fairly mild and sunny so walking back wasn’t too bad.

We opened the door on chaos! It was loud and the place was packed. If busy-ness is any indication, this was going to be good. Eventually we were offered seats at the counter. The portion sizes were huge! Nancy, Dawn and Alex all had pancakes. One each was ample. Alex chose the most exotic. He had a Boston Cream Pancake.

This is 1 pancake. Can you actually imagine eating 3?

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Nancy was more traditional with a Blueberry pancake and Dawn had an M & M pancake.Sides of bacon and juice were added to round out the meals. I strayed from convention with a plate of Texas Toast French toast. It tasted a lot like the french toast I make with lots of cinnamon but I don’t have those lovely thick slices of bread.

french-toast

It was really good and the best part was the bill came to under $10.00 per person. Can’t beat that! We had a good time, exchanged gifts and the tradition continues!