Dog parents, Amy & Bill Tschirhart, neighbors on the opposite side of this large Kettering block, recently adopted a kitten and as if Amy’s pet photos were not already sweet, they are incredibly adorable and practically enviable.

I scrolled through some of the Instagram photographs of her newly formed trio and was reminded of my cat, Logan, (13 April 1994 – 13 October 2011).

I was foreign to parenthood with cats and the tiny little kitten was somewhat of a mystery. To start, it was several months before I realized Logan was a girl and not a boy as her original owners indicated. That was a delightful realization at the veterinarian’s office. A later office visit, when I thought something had fallen and crushed Logan’s backside, was only an education in a cat being in heat – crying and dragging their crotches on the ground. Oh, well…

My first night with Logan was the first learning curve with cats. I was laying on the sofa and she crawled onto my chest and laid down near my chin. As I was petting her, I began hearing a little “rumble” sound and could feel a slight vibration in her body. The sound became louder. I began checking her heart and even opened her mouth to see if she had swallowed something.

Panicked, I called my mother, in Indiana, and explained that something was wrong with my new kitten. Upon hearing the sound I described, Mother laughed, “Darin, that’s her purr. Your kitten is content. Good night. I love you.”

Logan was a most dynamic cat, intelligent, talented, adventurous, and loving.

It’s a gray, gloomy-looking day but it is 52 degrees – a nice trade-off. The Park will be the center of my afternoon and evening.

Make it a great day!

PHOTOS: Logan