On the last day of 2025, we adopted our new cat–Kelpie–from the Tacoma Humane Society. She is an affectionate two-year-old long haired tuxedo cat. She was picked up as a stray, but now that she is in our home, all she wants to do is cuddle with the kids.

What we did not realize at the time was how many medical needs she had. In the first weeks of the year, I rushed her to the pet ER and the the vet to make sure that she was going to be ok, worried that we’d lose her before we had a chance to properly love her.

The worst of it is over, but she still has ongoing medical needs that require medicine and tests at the vet. To add insult to injury, she has to wear a cone of shame until she heals. The indignity!!

So, to help pay for her medical bills, I created a new Cone of Shame series!