It’s been a while since I’ve written a post about Merlin, so I thought I’d show him some love today. Did you know he has a full name? It is Merlinus Ambrosius Toothifer Goodcat Campbell. A grand name for a grand cat.

He’s adjusted quite well, really, to living in Virginia Beach.

He loves to look out at all the birds and squirrels in our yard. And lately, he’s been trying to bust out of jail and go be a wild thing. It’s been…fun…to manage.

He’s always been Lucy’s friend and protector.

Though lately, she’s asking a lot of him.

Don’t worry. We keep him safe and we’re teaching her every day how to be gentle and give him the kind of attention he likes.

I haven’t shared this before, but Merlin is also a sick kitty. He seemed well when we first brought him home, but quickly developed symptoms of what we thought was a cold due to the stress of being in a new environment. He sneezed and coughed, and one of his eyes got sort of weepy and crusty.

We brought him to the vet as soon as possible, and he was diagnosed with Feline Calicivirus. It’s common, and if cats get it, they carry it for life. In many cats, it just manifests as a cold, and they don’t have symptoms again unless or until they’re old or sick. In other cats, it’s acute, and deadly. In Merlin’s case, it’s chronic. He’s okay, just sneezy and occasionally snotty. And unfortunately, the virus also attacked his teeth and gums, and we’ve had to have several of his teeth pulled so that he can eat comfortably. Whatever we have to do for the rest of his life to take care of him, we will. He’s our family.

And he’s a happy cat. And very, very good.

We’re so grateful for him. There just aren’t many like him. How lucky we are, that we found him, and that he’s decided to love us back.