Pet project: Even more Monterey County pets.

I’ve always loved animals and I grew up with a lot of them, both of my own and my family’s: ducks, geese, chickens, rabbits, cats, dogs, horses, goats… 

When I moved out on my own, however, I was reluctant to commit. Animals require daily care and attention and, as someone who grew up around so many, I was very aware of that fact. Moving or going on vacation or even just staying out late would be more difficult with a pet, I told myself. Not worth it. 

But then came the pandemic, and then came Eloise. My cat was born feral, one of five kittens who, once they had weaned, I separated from their mother so they could all be socialized and adopted. I spent weeks quietly acclimating them to human presence, playing with pieces of string and balls of newspaper. It was extremely cute, but hard, work.

Even as her siblings felt comfortable climbing into my lap, Eloise remained standoffish. She’d sit at a safe distance, tail wrapped elegantly around her legs, and observe me with a kind of knowing disdain. I admired her commitment to skepticism. So when the other kittens got adopted, Eloise stayed.

These days Eloise is a lot less skeptical and, on the subject of having a pet, so am I. I can scarcely imagine my life without her clockwork 7am cuddles.

When I first shared Eloise's story back in February, I asked you, our readers, to chime in with your own pet stories. A handful of those were printed in this week's edition of the Weekly—but scroll through the photo carousel at the top to meet some of the other very good boys (and girls) we were lucky enough to be introduced to. (And check back this weekend for a slideshow of staff pets—because we can't help it.)