Meet Billie. She was my girlfriend's parents' cat, but conditions changed such that it was no longer a good idea for them to keep her, so we took her in last year. She's a bit disabled due to a back injury from before we got her, so she walks a bit odd and sometimes has trouble aiming in the litter box. The latter we've dealt with through pee pads, and if you saw how fast she could sprint or where she can get herself, you'd never guess she had mobility issues at all. She's the kind of cat that likes lying next to you on the couch, and she really appreciates scratchies. And she has this habit of staring at you with wide eyes, meaning she often looks surprised. Normally that's not a good sign of how much a cat likes or trusts you, and while I think there might have been some nervousness involved when she was doing it more often early on, she'll do it to people she seems to actively want to interact with.

Regina and her brother Bobo started not getting along a few years ago, and we eventually resorted to sticking one in the bedroom and giving other roam of the rest of the house, swapping them a few times over the course of the day. That complicated arrangement ended up meaning we weren't giving Billie as much attention as we wish we should have (she didn't get along with Bobo either, and Regina only recently started being fine with her, so it was hard to keep all 3 happy). But over the last few days, she's been keeping me company and making me feel less lonely. And she seems to appreciate the increased attention she's been getting. She's a good girl.