Loryn: My glamour cat, Munchkin, was willing to pose for me the other day. She was abandoned at three weeks old, and when I got her a few days later, she was still so small that she could run over my bathroom scale without moving the needle. She was supposed to have a fancier name, but Munch is what stuck. She’s now 13.

Like many divas, she is temperamental and high strung. She was separated from her mother much too young, so she doesn’t really know she’s a cat. I am the only person allowed to touch her (and not always even then). My family calls her “The Cat Trap,” because she was roll on her back invitingly, and sink all claws and teeth into the brave soul who tries to rub her belly.

The first time my husband met her, he picked her up. I waited breathlessly, but she didn’t even hiss at him. He’s the only other person besides me who can pet her. I guess she was sending me a signal that he was the right guy!