I Love My Hooman was inspired by the Birman cat we adopted when she was about a year and a half. I bought her for my 18-year-old daughter, who soon went away to study, so Coco and I lived together for a few years alone. I knew absolutely nothing about cats and was learning as we went along … but with her love, I emerged from a deep depression. She is now 15 years old!
This story first began some years back when I was irked about a snide remark and an arrogant opinion concerning Coco’s behavior. No sympathy or solutions were offered to help solve the many exasperating problems that I had been experiencing. The insult festered overnight until I had to start drawing a series of humorous pictures of Coco doing various things and writing to vent my irritation. Coco, a Birman, is obviously the model for the book, based on my own experiences as a new Cat Granny/cat parent.
There are many stories I could tell about my relationship with Coco, and how utterly surprised I was at learning about her intelligence and character. She came when I called her name, learned to climb a small ladder, and informed me when people were at the door, or when something was ready on the stove. I called her my “watch cat”. Coco had long periods of harmony and some periods when she did all sorts of things, probably because I was so inexperienced as a cat parent, or cat-granny. I took her for walks in my bicycle basket and also on a leash. We went to parks, where people would come to admire her beauty, to which she responded with cool nonchalance but with obvious pleasure, lapping up compliments.
As a retired high school teacher, I spend my time writing and working on various book projects, which often include videos, photography, art, and music. I have four adult children, two grandchildren, and four grand kitties.
I hope you enjoy this book and the illustrations, and that you will join me on this journey.
Anjella Banks