When humans are a little vulnerable or pensive, we have an expression:

“I’m in my feelings.”

Penny tilts her head when she hears this. She looks concerned. In our feelings? She was not aware there was any other possible habitat.

Speaking strictly for humans, we think our feelings are one option among many.

They are a single island in the archipelago of “us.” We also have thoughts, bodies, and that squiggly landmass where we banish all memories of puberty and norovirus. We hop from island to island. They speak different languages.

Like most matters pertaining to humans, Penny thinks this is friggin’ ridiculous.

Penny is not an archipelago. Penny, unquenchably “cat,” is a sovereign nation. Penny is the core of her own Earth, made of equal parts magma, marinara, and mirth. Penny lives from the center.

This means that Penny is “in her feelings” at all times.

Sometimes, this translates to the tenderest snuggle-fest this side of a children’s book. When Penny loves you, Penny will pour her entire undiluted soul into loving you.

If you are reading this, Penny loves you. Penny loves you more than Stanley Tucci loves spaghetti. Penny loves you more than fireflies love dancing. Penny loves you more than the electronic voice in the self-checkout loves yelling, “move your small potatoes to the bagging area!”

Love is Penny’s identity.

But Penny’s identity is the entire expanse of feelings, thoughts, and theologies of poultry, as well as seventy thousand other categories known only to Penny.

Penny is the full Penny, one hundred percent of the time. Penny lives from the center because her circumference is everywhere.

This means Penny sometimes needs to bite people, human and otherwise. That particular expression of her feelings has earned her an orange collar, Tabby’s Place’s fashion statement for “toothsome” cats. (They insist they are simply truthful.)

Penny regrets nothing. Penny is capable of loving you, biting you, and nominating you for the Supreme Court all at once. Penny does not need a costume change between her emotions.

It can be a little overwhelming for naked hamsters like us. But one of Penny’s shiniest traits is her patience with smaller mammals.

She does not believe anyone should skulk the sidelines of their soul. Join her in the sunbeam, and she will show you the light: specifically, your own.

When Penny tilts her head and gazes straight into your eyes, you may feel a funny wholeness. You are smushy and professional, fragile and leonine. You are a creator and a child, a lover and an authority on curly fries. You are not a lonely line of ellipses. You are one victorious exclamation point.

You are a lot like a calico cat who is simultaneously present in all her patches.

You may even benefit from an orange collar of your own, every once in awhile.

But all the whiles, Penny loves all of you. She hopes you’ll make plans to hang out soon. Where should you meet up? Penny suggests “in your feelings.”

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