Norman's story starts in Monkton, Md. at the Mount Carmel Animal Hospital (MCAH). Hana's story starts on the Caribbean island of Anguilla.

Cathy and I lived in Monkton Md., a beautiful country village near an area called Hunt Valley. Cathy lived in an adorable carriage house with her two cats Missy P and Mac, I lived in an apartment house on the same property alone. (Cat-less). One cold winter night a small black cat arrived at my door looking cold, drab, and hungry. Being a cat lover I offered her some food and a dry box to sleep in on my balcony until the weather cleared but told her that she could not come in. HAHA.

This arrangement for her sleep over lasted about two days until I realized that she must not have had a home of her own. So, she had first won my heart and now she had found a full time warm and loving home. Cathy called her a hobo and the name did seem proper for her. I took her to Dr. Fox at the MCAH for a complete check up.

During this examination Dr. Fox found that she was not a kitten but a full grown cat. He also informed me that the tests showed that she had feline aids and he asked us what we wanted him to do for her. We all agreed that I would keep her for the rest of her life and give her extra love because of her illness. So this precious little ball of fur moved into my apartment and took over.

Hobo very soon became my constant companion. She would sit in my chair with me when ever I sat down. She especially loved to watch baseball games (even when the Orioles lost). Each evening Cathy would come over to my apartment to play with her. She had won both of our hearts.

One day, several months after she moved in, she came to me dragging her left rear leg. We took her right away to MCAH for help. I thought that she had fallen from the bed and broken her leg but Dr. Fox found that she had a blood clot in that leg and the only thing to do was to amputate the leg and treat her for as long as she lived. We agreed and the leg was removed but her BIG heart was very week and she spent lots of time at the MCAH.

She was placed in a large crate there next to a beautiful orange and white tabby kitten named Norman. Even though (because of her aids) they were never allowed to get close they became chums and when we visited Hobo we spent a lot of time talking and playing with Norman.

Norman had been kicked by a horse and Dr. Fox had operated on him to repair his crushed leg. His front leg was in a cast but that did not stop him from being playful. The wonderful girls in the office would often take him from his crate and allow him to play behind the counter in the main office. He soon became the office pet.

After several months Norman was ready to find a home of his own. Cathy and I would have loved to take him home but with Hobo's illness they could not be near each other. Hobo was getting weaker by the day so we took her home on a Wednesday. She passed away beside me later that night. I thought my heart would break but I know that she is waiting for me at Rainbow Bridge.

I took her body the next day to MCAH to have her cremated and I wanted to say good bye to Norman before he was picked up by a young couple that had agreed to adopt him. It was a very sad day for us and for the staff at MCAH.

On Monday when I went to pay for Hobo's final expenses...guess who ran to the door to greet me, RIGHT, Norman. The couple had decided not to adopt him. So on the spot Norman was adopted by Cathy and me.

He stayed at the hospital for several days while Cathy and I cleaned my apartment to make sure that Hobo's illness would not affect Norman.

With many tears and lots of love I wrote the following eulogy for our Hobo,

She arrived homeless on my doorstep,
sent to me by God above.
She filled my house with companionship and joy,
and my heart she filled with love.

I miss the sound of her melodious purr,
I miss the feel of her warm silky fur.
But I know the Lord is happy to see,
the return of His Angel He lent to me.

The sun came up on Wednesday and I was at the hospital very early to pick up the most lovable furry baby I had ever seen. I could not believe as I drove home that this handsome purring kitten was really ours.

Norman took over my apartment immediately. He sniffed and inspected every corner and then got on my bed and went to sleep. Cathy came for supper that night and when she walked in the house Norman came running down the hall with his ears straight up and his tail wagging as high as he could stretch it. It was as if he was saying "Hello, I'm Norman and this is now my house". In the evening Cathy and I played with him for hours.

It didn't take long for us to find out his favorite games and we were always trying to come up with new ways to entertain him. I had a very long hallway between the living room and bedroom. We threw balls down this hallway and he would run after them. We got out the flashlight and he chased the light around the room. We blew soap bubbles in front of a fan and he would chase them down the hall, jumping up and trying to catch them. We bounced a ball in the bathroom sink and he would catch it and try to keep it from us.

I got out the camera and he began to pose right away. The bonding was complete. Norman The Cat became the head of the house.

Cathy loves to visit the Island of Anguilla and she has vacationed there many times. She made some friends there and they were associated with the Anguilla Animal Rescue Fund.

As Cathy had to have her cat Mac put to sleep due to complications from epilepsy she decided on her trip in 2002 that she would bring a kitten home from there. Animals run wild on the island and even with these dedicated lovers of animals a lot of them never find good homes.

On Cathy's trip to the island she took an animal carrier with her just in case they had a kitten that she could adopt. While she was there some one brought in five little kittens -- one of them was a precious little black kitty that was so small you could almost hold her in one hand. Cathy fell in love with this kitten right away and the kitten responded to Cathy. Each day she visited the little one and spent hours playing with her. The girls there told Cathy that the kitty was "vexed" when she left and waited each day for her human playmate to return. A very strong bond developed between Cathy and the kitten -- so Cathy adopted her as her own.

Read about Hana's adoption.

She gave her the name Hana. This name was the last four letters in the name Malliouhana, which was the name given to the island by the first settlers, the Arawak Indians. It was later given the name Anguilla by Columbus. Hana was and is a beautiful sleek black shiny kitten with several small white spots. One under her chin and several under her arms. She is very skittish and does not seem to like strangers, however, with us she is as lovable as can be. Cathy's cat , Missy P, was not sure at first that she liked having this playful little bundle of fur following her all around and sleeping as close as she could at night, but she soon ,also, fell under Hana's spell and they became very close friends. They did everything together.



This is a picture of the MissyP and Hana eating side by side.

You may think that GrandMa and Aunt Cathy do all the writing and programing for this site but this picture proves that I know how to use the mouse myself!

By this time, I had moved to an apartment in Timonium, Md. Cathy would bring Hana to stay with me and to play with Norman each week. She'd stay with us three or four days.

I want to tell you about their first meeting at my house. Norman had never met Hana and their meeting was unbelievable. We put Hana in her carrier on my bed and called Norman to come see what we had. He jumped on the bed and looked at the carrier. Cathy said, "Norman, who is that?". Norman made a few sounds that sounded like "Rye ront row", (I don't know). We were both amazed at this and told everyone that we had a cat that could speak. From that day on Hana and Norman spent a lot of their time together.

Read about Norman and Hana on AARF website.

Cathy's beloved Missy P passed away several months after Hana's arrival and Cathy found that Hana seemed as broken hearted as she did over the loss of this very special friend. The solution was to have Hana come and live with Norman and me. I was delighted as were many of my friends in the apartment building.

Several of them became daily visitors just in order to see what was new with the Furry Babies. One of my best friends Carroll White came every day to catch up on the new tricks that the cats were doing. She also became their Aunt Carroll and "cat sat "whenever Cathy and I were away together.

Aunt Carroll and her husband Harry now live in a new apartment in Timonium. Unfortunately we don't see her often anymore, but she thinks about us almost every day. She calls weekly to find out what we've been up to.

Aunt Carroll is a very good artist and sends GrandMa cards on every occasion. GrandMa loves getting Aunt Carroll's cards and always has them on display.

Aunt Carroll draws the pictures of us from photos that GrandMa has sent her, and from memory.

Aunt Cathy and GrandMa visit Aunt Carroll often but Hana and I don't go. I do meow for her on the phone when she calls.

Cathy, in the mean time, had met and had fallen in love with a most wonderful young man. Before they married I asked Cathy if Hana could come live with Norman and I permanently. She very happily agreed as Norman and Hana were such good friends.

We moved to a larger apartment in Bel Air, Maryland.

And with the addition of Hana now we were three.

In the beginning Hana was not sure about the camera, but little by little she began to notice that when the camera came out Norman got a lot of special attention. When he saw the camera he would pose for us and we would give him a lot of special loving. In her little mind I think she was beginning to think that maybe if she posed and laid on the floor on her back with her paws up in the air the attention would come her way also. She was right!! She has now turned into a perfect model and looks right into the camera when we request her presence at picture taking time.

In my next episode of "King Norman The Cat and His Subjects" I'll relate the story "King Norman Goes to the Doctor".

Please visit our photo album on Squidoo. Norman & Hana's Photo Album. You will see pictures of some of our friends and learn about their families.

Our friend Tammy gave this to Norman one year for Christmas. It has turned out to be Hana's very favorite treat. She eats it as many times a day as she can coax her Favorite Subject, Jane, into giving it to her. As a matter of fact, Jane buys Kitty Kaviar by the case from a pet store called Chow Baby in Hampden, Maryland.

Kitty Kaviar is an all-natural fish treat. It's shaved and dried Bonito fish filets. (Bonito is a schooling fish of the tuna and mackerel family.)

Hana goes wild for it.

Norman and Dr. Fox had bonded from the very beginning and Norman was always very happy to go to MCAH to see his friends. The office staff, Dr. Fox, Dr. Steele and Dr. Cooke always showered him with hugs and pats. When I went in I would put his carrier behind the reception counter and he would meow loudly until someone allowed him all the freedom he had had there before. The first thing he looked for was his Cat Dancer, it was his favorite toy and the girls would hide it between the books and waited for him to find it. Then all the fun began. They had used the Cat Dancer to get him to exercise his bad leg when he was a patient there.

They would laugh at his antics and he would purr when they took a few minutes to pick him up and give him some special hugs. When it was time for his examination he would sit on the examining table and wait for one of the doctors to enter the room. He would then purr louder and rub his head against their hands. He always acted like a perfect patient and really seemed to enjoy the attention.

When it was time to go home I would walk to his carrier and say "Norman, come now it's time for us to go home". He would jump into his carrier and wait for me to zip it closed. After many goodbyes we would leave the office and head for home. When we moved to Timonium we still visited our friends at MCAH as often as necessary. It was a very sad day when we were ready to move to Bel Air and we knew that we had to leave our special friends behind.

After our move when it was time for his annual shots it was necessary for us to find a new doctor for him. A few blocks from us we found the Greenbrier Veterinary Clinic . I took Norman there for a first meeting. He got his check up and Dr. Streett asked about his shots. I had taken his records from MCAH and Dr. Streett looked them over very carefully and found that Norman was due his three year rabies shot. We talked about this and the doctor decided that he would give Norman his shot that day. Norman behaved very bravely and soon we were on our way home.

About a half hour after we were home Norman began to vomit violently. After this happened three times I called Dr Streett. He advised me to come back to the Clinic right away. When we arrived in the office, Dr. Streett gave Norman a shot and asked me to leave him there. Around 4:00OPM I got a call from the clinic stating that they had no all night coverage and that Norman needed to be monitored and be on an IV over night.

I picked him up and transported him from Greenbrier to Harford Emergency Veterinary Services. (since that time the office has been renamed Harford Emergency & Referral Veterinary Clinic and they have moved to Hickory). The doctor checked him over and admitted him to the ICU over night. I left my poor very ill boy in their care and went home, praying all the way that he would last the night.

The next morning I went very early to pick him up and I saw how much better he looked and acted. I returned him to Greenbrier and he was in their care for another full day of treatment. That evening when I picked him up from Greenbrier he seemed very happy to be going home and I was so thrilled that he was almost back to normal. BUT PROBLEMS WERE AWAITING US AT HOME...

When I took him from his carrier, Hana, hissed and swatted at him (she has claws). He was so weak that I had to pick him up and take him into the den and lock Hana out. Hana sat outside of the closed door and meowed and growled at him for what seemed hours. Finally I was able to coax her away from the door with the offer of some extra Bonito Flakes. For two days Norman stayed closed up in the den and Hana thought that she was at last in charge of the house.

Finally our Cathy came to the rescue.

When she came into the house she spent some time loving Hana and talking to her about Norman. She then went into the den, leaving the door open behind her and gently calling Hana to follow her. I stayed out of the way. When Hana entered the den she hissed a few times at Norman but Cathy spoke very softly to her and in a very few moments the growling was over and Norman was again the head of the house. As for me, I trembled when the thought ran through my mind that in three years Norman would have to have another shot. GUESS WHAT? A notice arrived in the mail a few days ago reminding me that both Hana and Norman were due their rabies shots. With fear and trembling I called to make an appointment for them to have their shots.

Even though our little Missy Hana is skittish at times she is able to fully relax when it's just her, King Norman, and Jane at home, as proven by this picture.

Every morning about 6AM Norman & Hana take up their bird watching posts on Hana's tower in the den. They sit and stare out of the window while their faithful servant Jane faces the wind, rain, snow, heat and so on to take food out to the birds. The birds are sitting in the trees and bushes chattering as loud as they can to let us know that this morning I'm a few minutes late with their goodies. I rush down the steps and begin to spread their food on the bare ground under the big pine tree in front of the den window and then rush back into the comfort of our apartment. When I get to the den the cats are gnashing their teeth and making all sorts of noises at their hungry feathered friends. Once the birds have eaten all the food they fly up into the tree by the window to look with gratitude at their furry friends. Several times one of the birds has flown over to sit on the window sill. I worry that one of these days the cats will break through the glass in the window and end up at the bottom of the big pine tree. I'm not sure that they are aware of the fact that cats can't fly.



After all of this excitement the cats jump down from the tower and find a quiet spot to enjoy a morning nap. I forgot to mention that the servants normal rising time (according to the King & Hana) is no later than 4AM. Norman and Hana take a morning nap but by now the servant (me) is fully awake and ready for her second breakfast. Hence the many extra pounds that I've acquired.

There are also several squirrels in the tall tree and they visit us often during the morning bird feeding. Three years ago a limb from the tree became frozen to the window screen, as the limb got heavier from the weight of the wet snow it pulled a rather large hole in the screen. The squirrels have managed to make the hole larger and they sit on the big branch nose to nose with the poor imprisoned cats and tease the dickens out of them. I thank goodness that dogs have enough sense not to climb trees!

We have since had beautiful new windows installed in the apartment.

Norman and Hana love their cat tower penthouse. They spend a lot of time in it, sleeping, playing and birdwatching.

I would sure have it made if I could only teach him how to do the dishes. He spends so much time in the kitchen sink!

As time always does, the fearful day arrived for Norman's trip to the Doctor's to get the first of his series of shots. This trip turned out to be a disaster. I got him into his carrier without any meowing or fighting. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed to the Greenbrier. He was very good and quiet in the carrier and I thought "ha, I've won the battle". Little did I know that the real war was soon to come.

He was very quiet when the assistant came in and we took him from the carrier and placed him on the metal weighing table. He tipped the scale at 15.2 pounds. No wonder my cat food bill is more than my humans food bill! He was very quiet and calm and stayed very still until Dr. Hoopes entered the room with a needle in her hand.

When he saw the needle he went Berserk!!! He hissed, gnashed his teeth, growled and wagged his tail fiercely (his tail was three times it's normal size) and he did every thing he could to leap from the table. Only the quick action of Dr. Hoopes kept him from flying off the table. I started toward him and Dr. Hoopes said "stay back mother or he'll get you for sure".

The wonderful assistant grabbed him by the nape of the neck and prevented his escape. Dr. Hoopes asked the assistant to please go get a towel to hold him down. She did. The towel did not help so she went out and got another one, that one did not help either. It seemed that it would be impossible to keep him on the table. As a last resort, the assistant left to get a pair of leather gloves. I had never seen such gloves, they were almost up to her elbow and they sure did the job of holding him down.

Dr. Hoopes was able to quickly give him the shot. During all this time, Norman could be heard hissing and growling. Finally, with the needle given, the assistant wrapped him up, picked him up and removed him to the holding area. I admired her for her courage and her tender treatment of my poor Unhappy little boy. I was stunned at his behavior and stayed in my corner almost afraid to move. Dr. Hoopes suggested that they keep him for several hours until he settled down. I gratefully concurred and left the examining room after offering my apologizes as to his behavior.

Several hours later I returned to pick him up, he was back to being the sweet, calm, loving Norman I knew. Thank the Lord. After viewing his behavior in the examining room I was concerned that he would never forgive me for putting him through that terrible experience. As I carried him home in his carrier the thought flashed through my mind, (Ye gads, in three weeks he has to return to Greenbrier for his rabies shot, and I must make two appointments to take the wild little Hana for her shots). I felt that maybe being a cat servant was not as much fun as it is supposed to be.

With knocking knees I careful placed Normans' carrier in the bathroom. It was the only room from which he could not escape. He usually goes into the bathroom with me when I take my shower so he suspected nothing when I closed the door. However, when I picked him up and opened the shower curtain and exposed the carrier he attempted, at all costs, to exit his prison. I had picked him up by all four legs so all of his fighting to escape was futile. However, he fought me tooth and nail (literally) in trying to vacate the room - but I won the first battle of the day and quickly zipped the carrier closed. He knew that he was caught and the growling and hissing came to an end. I put him in the car and gratefully took him to spend the day at Greenbrier.

The girls did not have a happy look on their faces when they realized that he would have to have three shots, one before and one after he got his rabies shot. I smiled, the best I could, told him that I loved him, patted him through the side of the cage and LEFT. I was relived that I would not have to be there for the shots, that I would only have to pick him up sometime after four pm.



When we arrived home Hana was waiting for us and when I set the carrier on the floor she immediately ran to it and looked in side. Poor Norman had had a very bad day and he was a little sick in his tummy so he did not jump out of the carrier. I gently picked him up and put him on the floor. He just stood very still while his new nurse Hana licked his head and rubbed his face. In a few minutes he went in to his food dish and ate some of his very own goodies, he then got up in his tower and went to sleep. Several hours later he went to his next favorite spot, the sink in the bathroom and meowed for me to turn on the water so he could have a drink. The effects of the shot were over and my sweet Furry Baby was back to normal.

Grandma and Norman had a talk one day
about his actions when friends come to stay.
He nips and he hisses and that makes Grandma mad
to think that this sweet boy could act so bad.

She said that he could no longer act that way
and that nipping and biting was no way to play.
She told him that he must understand------
that she was the boss and he was only second in command.

It looks as if GrandMa's poem has made him laugh out loud. He obviously knows who the boss REALLY is...

From GrandMa's Perspective:

I'm so glad that I only have to play Ms. Santa Claus once a year. Not only do I run out of tricks to keep the Furry Babies from seeing their gifts until the sun comes up, but it takes much knee bending and stretching to clean up all of the mess. Like human little ones they spend more time tearing up the wrapping paper then enjoying the wonderful and delightful gifts that several (unfurry) Santa's have left for them.

Norman plays it cool as if this was an everyday event. Hana, however, races in like the North Wind and scatters all of the gifts from one end of the living room to the other. So much for getting different gifts for each of these precious furry babies. Please note the picture of the living room.



From the King's Perspective:

This year a few days before what Grandma calls Christmas, Hana and I had a very surprise visit from a large orange cat and a petite black dancing female cat. They looked familiar but I had never seen such large cats before. By some sort of magic a very funny looking camera appeared on a stool and it began to record (I guess) all of the antics of the visiting big cats. Hana and I watched in wonderment as these visitors slept on our floor and danced to some loud noise. The black cat danced very well and the large orange cat danced until he (somehow) dropped his furry pants. We laughed and I almost fell from the top of our tall tower in the living room. The large orange cat pulled up his furry bottoms and then (much to our dismay) went into the kitchen and began to eat food from MY bowl (but it turned out to be OK because he was fake-eating). We also watched as the big orange cat began to throw darts at a picture of our Aunt Blossom. Aunt Blossom does not like cats and she dislikes US most of all. Two times I've been able to chase her into a corner and she hollered like all get out for help. Grandma always comes and saves her from me. (Actually frightening her is the most fun I have in a day). As quickly as the large cats came, all of a sudden they disappeared out of the front door.

What a show the big cats put on just to please our Grandma and to make us all laugh. When we saw the video we laughed until tears ran down on our fur. Grandma has not yet shown the video to Aunt Blossom, but I can hardly wait to see her reaction. We can't wait until Aunt Cathy and Uncle David come to see what goes on at our house when Grandma is not at home.

Several times I thought to myself that the big orange cat seemed to look a lot like our Uncle David and the petite black cat danced and meowed an awful lot like our Aunt Cathy. It sure makes me wonder what will happen next year!"

Author Henry Hall Sloan's books are meant to "Entertain and Inspire the Heart and Spirit." Your favorite cat lover would appreciate any one of these whimsical books presented from a cat's point of view.

Written in a cat's voice, Cat Guilt is a light look at the multitude of ways by which our cats manipulate us using guilt. In addition, it also expresses the felines' strongly held opinions on certain matters. Cattitudes is a cat's pronouncement on the proper order of things ...from the cat's point of view, of course. Cat Quips is a cat's own commentary on certain subjects, such as "Giving a cat a bath", "Going to the Vet", and "Improper Human Behavior".

You can find these books and more for sale here Henry Hall Sloan