Today is a very special day for me, because my “son” Beavis turns three.

Since November 17, 2001, which was the day I got him, he has been more like a child to me then a pet. I have had other pets in my life. From guinea pigs to fish to other cats – but I never thought any of them were like my child – until Beavis.

I never want to have a “human” child, because quite frankly, I do not want to hear screaming in the middle of the night, change dirty diapers, or have the child wreck my house. Ironically, Beavis meows all night long, I have to clean his litter box when it is dirty – and he does an excellent job of wrecking my stuff – but I love him anyway.

He has been in my life for almost three years now, and I could never imagine a day without him. There is no greater feeling then when I come home and he runs to me and licks my head after I pick him up, or when he sleeps with me and uses my hand as a pillow. And when I am in my house and I do not see him for a while, I always get up and check on him to see if he is ok. There are even times when I am next door at Woody’s and go back into my apartment to take what I call a “Beavis Break.”

The thing that I love most about Beavis is his personality. Using only his ability to meow and a few eye movements and facial expressions, my son has developed a truly unique personality that is all his own. I can tell when he is happy, sad, angry, afraid – and “stink” – which is the term I use for when he is being bad. There are even a few instances where we have communicated successfully, like the time when he wanted to play with his ball and he wanted me to throw it – so he picked up the ball in his mouth, brought it to me, meowed, and then looked at me and then looked at the ball as if to say, “Can you please play with me?”

He doesn’t know it, but Beavis is quite the famous cat. He is currently nominated, thanks to Christine, for August 2004’s Cat of the Month on a website called The Cat Connection, he is adored by my friends who literally live all over the world – and he actually receives mail from friends of mine who are kind enough to either buy him a gift every now and then, or just drop him a line to say hi – like my friend Diane Raintree who bought him a catnip-filled carrot that is now his favorite toy and has been affectionately named, “Super Carrot Guy.”

Although he is only a cat, I love Beavis as much as if my own blood flowed though his veins. I actually love him as much as if he was my biological child. There are even times when I simply look at him and get teary eyed just like a proud father would watching his son play baseball for the first time. I know that he will never be able to do the things that a human child can do – but I don’t care. I love him and look forward to every other birthday that lies ahead. I want to watch him grow up, learn new things, discover new places – and make new friends. I want each and every day of his life to be filled with happiness, fun and love. I want him to eat his favorite food, play with his favorite toys and continue to beat me in wrestling matches. And no matter what lies ahead for both of us, he will always receive from his father excellent care, a good home to live in – and absolute unconditional love for the rest of his life.

Happy Birthday Beavis, I love you.