Marks of a Lasting Love: Tales of a Life ... With Cats

By Stephen Taylor

Author Stephen Taylor recounts some of the amazing, surprising and heartwarming episodes from over 30 years spent sharing his life with his family's cats.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Taylor
• Release date: Dec 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005815721

Stephen Taylor

Stephen Taylor is the author of the pet care advice book "Your Cat Won't Do That!: Observations and Advice for Cat Companions from a Longtime Cat-Sitter." Stephen has also written a number of articles and essays published in venues. Several of Stephen's cat stories have been included in the highly popular anthologies produced by "Chicken Soup for the Soul." He is also the author of the sports blog “The Disgruntled Fan Report.” Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Stephen grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to the Oregon coast. Among other ventures, Stephen spent a decade as a professional cat-sitter in addition to serving as a cat care volunteer at a Bay Area animal shelter, where he helped prepare hundreds of cats for adoption. Today, Stephen spends his days in his Oregon home working as a graphic artist, writing on various topics, and pondering all things feline.

Book preview

Marks of a Lasting Love

Tales of a Life … With Cats

by Stephen Taylor

First edition, copyright 2022 Stephen Taylor. Published by Stephen Taylor at Smashwords.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Photo and artwork credits

Cover design by the author. All photos from the author’s collection.

A version of The Mark of a Lasting Love first appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Did What? edited by Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC.

A version of When the Gussycat Flew first appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Very Good, Very Bad Cat edited by Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC.

A version of The Voice of Authority first appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cat Really Did That? edited by Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC.

Table of Contents

The Marks of a Lasting Love

Night of the Catquake

The Voice of Authority

When the Gussycat Flew

Couch Buddies at Last

Nurse Maxi

The Farewell Dream

About the author

Also by Stephen Taylor

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W.T. joined our family on my birthday, October 9, 1989.

The Marks of a Lasting Love

It was Mom’s fault. She got the ball rolling with one simple, crazy declaration:

W.T. needs a bath.

Imagine my surprise. W.T. had been with us for a full year, and had shown no symptoms of being especially grimy. I tried to put up a good fight, for her sake and mine.

What are you talking about? I asked. Cats clean themselves. Constantly. W.T. doesn't need a bath.

Mom was insistent. It's been a year. She needs a bath.

It’s not that I had any objection to having a clean cat; it was just that I was perfectly happy with W.T. the way she was. Once more I tried to avert an obvious mistake. "Have you ever tried to give a cat a