June greetings to you, and to all Buddy’s buddies.

Buddy’s health is great this month, and you’ll read about the kind of spring-y energy he has in just a moment. But first, this…

“A day off with pay” must be among the five sweetest words in the English language. That’s what I was looking forward to on the Friday before Memorial Day. But why settle for sweet when you can have epic? To accomplish that, at about noon that Friday I popped in a podcast of “You Must Remember This” and drove to Tabby’s Place.

Once there, naturally the first stop was the solarium opposite Suite FIV+ to have Quality Time with little buddy Buddy and my ol’ pal Charlie. But while Charlie was there in his accustomed place, Buddy was inside the suite along with Amos and Lester. After some QT with Charlie, I went inside too.

As usual, Buddy was almost always in motion, starting on the elevated ramp near the ceiling, next trotting past curled-up Cisco, then hopping down a level to where Lester watched with interest, before at last bouncing down to the floor and trotting over to me to say hello.

While I especially favor good lap cats like Charlie or Nigel Vincent, I know that’s not how Buddy operates. So it wasn’t a surprise when seconds later, I got in one last skritch between his ears and Buddy went back on the move.

But instead of retracing his paw steps, he crossed the floor to the other side of the suite, where four portable cages are kept. Two are on the floor with two more on top, and they are used only if it is necessary to isolate a cat or ensure he gets the food or meds he needs.

Buddy paused in front of one of the bottom cages, looked up, gauged the effort he’d need, and with two powerful leaps he scaled the vertical face back up to the ramp. It was all too quick and too unexpected for me to record it, but several years ago I did have a camera at the ready when my own cat Caitie-Belle performed the same kind of feat.

So on that day, not only was I getting paid *not* to do my regular job, but I was getting paid to spend time with cats and watch some amazing feline athleticism. I only get a few of those days per year, but can you imagine being Dr. Jean-Michel Macron, physician and father of the newly elected President of France, who spent extended periods of time with kittens to research how they sneeze?

Until next time, thanks from me and everyone at Tabby’s Place for helping to give this good fellow a good life.