My cat Max has been featured on Afrobella before – remember how little and cute he was when he first scampered into my life? Awwwww kitten! And now here he is, 15 pounds of FUN.

Life has changed so much for my furbaby since then.

Max was a Miami suburban street kitten, and he lived an indoor/outdoor life. Then he became more of an indoor cat, who’d run away and climb trees the second he could. Then we moved and he went from the sultry heat of Miami to a 12 acre spread in North Carolina, to a sad garage in Chicagoland for a little bit, and now here we are. Max is a high rise condo cat in downtown Chicago, and spends much of his day staring longingly out of the window at the birds that occasionally fly by. When he sleeps and his whiskers twitch and he makes little kitty noises, I am sure he’s dreaming of climbing trees, killing lizards, and hiding their bodies in my shoes (as he used to often do).

To make up for Max’s lack of outdoor fun, I let him get a good whiff of outside air every day – right now as I write this, he’s curled up by the screen and soaking it up. Because of high rise syndrome, he’s not allowed on the balcony. And to compensate for the lack of running around and climbing he used to do, Max now has quite the cat toy collection. He’s got a corner of our apartment so decked out with cat stuff, I’m sure even Jackson Galaxy would approve.

Max is a cat of strong opinion and particular taste. He only wants the Fancy Feast with the gravy – he hates that classic stuff and he won’t even sniff the high end Science Diet wet food I used to buy for him (but he’s addicted to their dry food). He won’t touch the lovely cat scratcher a friend gave us, but he’s all about the Bergan Turbo Track Toy. He’s obsessed with that thing.

When he wants attention or food, he’ll walk around banging our cupboard doors open and closed until we come over to deal with the situation. In the wee hours of the morning if he’s out of food, he will climb on my dresser and knock my lipsticks and necklaces on the ground until I get up and feed him. Despite that being EXTREMELY annoying, I still think he’s super cute and I put up with his shenanigans. That’s kitty love.

When the folks behind the Skratchkabin contacted me to see if Max would be interested in reviewing their scratching device/kitty abode, I said yes but with some reservations. It can take Max a while to show interest in new toys – if that interest ever makes itself apparent. I thought I took a while to familiarize myself with a product. It can take this cat even longer. BUT when we opened the Skratchkabin and set it up, there was interest!

Interest in examining this thing from all sides. I think part of Max’s concerns is the fact that there’s a back to the Skratchkabin. He doesn’t like being penned in with no chance of escape. He likes the mouse, because it’s big and tough and he loves using his back legs to wreak as much havoc as possible. It was REALLY easy for him to detach the hanger and the mouse from the front. We’ve had the Skratchkabin for a few weeks now and he’s only been inside of it twice, and that’s with the encouragement of treats.

So as a cat igloo/bed/hideaway, Max isn’t sold yet. BUT as a scratching device, he LOVES it. The Skratchkabin has definitely been helpful in giving him a surface to take out those feline instincts and aggressions, and he’s been better about leaving our furniture and shoes alone. Which is AWESOME. Because my leather office chair has had ENOUGH.

The Skratchkabin is $99 – which isn’t bad as far as cat furniture goes — and is available at KatKabin.com. They’re on Twitter @KatKabinUSA.

Are you a cat owner? No? Why not? Cats are AWESOME pets! If you’re looking to rescue a lucky kitty cat and give him or her a forever home, visit The Shelter Pet Project to find a shelter in your neighborhood.

Aww, memories. This photo was taken in May, just before we moved to Chicago. I blogged about that trip here. I’m standing in my friend Forrest’s backyard in North Carolina. And I’m holding Coquito, the Norwegian Forest Cat they adopted. Coquito was SO cute, so fluffy. Utterly adorable. Unafraid of people, even strangers — on the night we slept over, Coquito got into bed with me and wrapped his long, fluffy tail around my husband’s head! Coquito was an awesome kitty.

Today I found out that my dear friends Forrest and Lydia have lost Coquito to coyotes. I am so, so sad about it. RIP, Coquito. I hope there is a kitty heaven, and I hope you are in it. And I hope eventually my dear friends take another shelter cat into their home, because they are great pet owners, and any pet would be lucky to share a home with them. (Love you guys!)

I am sure my friends are currently wondering what they could have done to prevent this — and sadly the answer is, nothing. Forrest lives on an awesome acreage, and it would have been cruel to deprive Coquito of the natural setting he so obviously loved. This was a cat that was all about climbing trees and bounding through the wildflowers with that long, bushy tail bouncing behind him. And if he was anything like my Max, if he was confined to just be an indoor cat and there was all that beautiful green space just waiting outside, he’d have found a way to get out anyhow.

I know lots of people who don’t like cats, or cite reasons for not wanting to own a cat. And one of those reasons is, cats are own-way pets who want to go and come as they please and show affection at their whim. That’s indisputable. Cats do as they please. Max is my furry BFF, but just minutes ago he decided it’d be fun to claw the bejesus out of my hand. They have minds of their own. That’s the downside of owning a cat — if you want a well behaved pet you can control, you may not want a cat. But there are so many other ways in which cats rule. And it’s worth noting, even when Max is at his feistiest, I love him and I’d highly advocate cat ownership to anyone considering getting a pet. Here’s why.

1 — I can’t think of a more low maintenance pet. Cats are amazing that way. From the minute you get a kitten, all you need to do is put their litter box in a somewhat private corner, show them where it is, and they take care of the rest. Yes, you gotta clean up after them and that sucks but if you do it daily, there’s minimal odor in your home. Then besides that, all you gotta do is make sure they have food and water every day, and play with them when you feel like it. My cat would rather play by himself and chase a ball around the room sometimes, than wait for me to throw it. So independent!

2 — Cats choose their owners, so if you’re chosen, consider yourself lucky! I had been told years before, that someday a cat would set its sights on me. And there’s no doubt that Max chose us. When a cat chooses you, it means that you’ve got a new shadow. For most of the day, Max follows me quietly from room to room, making sure everything’s OK. But…

3 — Cats are independent. I’d grown up with dogs all my life, and dogs are wonderful, loving pets. When you come home from work, you know a dog will come running up to you with their tail wagging. A cat might be sleeping on your bed (or under the bed) and will emerge when they are good and ready. When a cat comes over to you, snuggles up on your lap and starts purring, it feels like an honor. They aren’t needy pets, and if you’re a busy person that can be kind of wonderful.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always be a dog lover, but I can’t think of a pet with more personality than a cat. If you want to bring a kitty into your life, now’s a great time. The Iams Home For the Holidays campaign continues until January 4. Click here to learn more about the initiative, and to adopt a dog or cat that needs your love. And if you can’t adopt a pet right now but would like to help shelter pets, click here to vote for your favorite shelter in Iams’ Feed Pets In Need program.

RIP, Coquito. This post is dedicated to you.

Are you a cat owner? Tell me about the kitties you’ve known and loved!