Muffie is a four-year-old red and cream Maine Coon. He is unimaginably sweet and good natured. He goes around the house singing to himself, with a big smile on his face. He loves to bury his head in my chest while I pet him, and he loves to sleep on top of the refrigerator upside down. Muffie is very sensitive to the humans who come into the house. I'm a French teacher, which is why Muffie's real name is Petit Pain (French for Muffin).

One of my students is a shy little seven-year-old. Muffie always sits on her book and makes her laugh. Sometimes he sits on my keyboard that I use to play French songs for her. That makes an awful racket, so of course Fernanda loves that! He sits on my 62-year-old student's coat because he knows the man loves animals and wants to be his friend. How thrilled my ex-bandleader student is when Muffie lowers his magnificent head to be petted and sings!

When Muffie's "Grandma Misty" died (she was my 19-year-old DSH), he cried real tears for about a month, until one of my friends sent him a tunnel to distract him. Still, he wouldn't sing anymore until little Désirée came to live with us that Fall. Désirée is also a little tuxedo cat. Not surprisingly, Muffie fell head over heels in love with her. They spend hours together, cuddling, kissing, and grooming each other. When it comes right down to it, Muffie spends his whole day being kissed by me, Désirée, or his brother. The only annoying element in his life is Cinder, a Korat, who rushes at him and tries to claw him.

She weighs 10 pounds, and he weighs 25. Still, he didn't know what to make of her for two whole years until one day she scratched his eye very badly. Now, when he sees her coming, he stands up and pretends to be about to pounce on her. She cringes, starts crying, and makes her escape. He just stands there laughing, I think, because he finally understands how much bigger he is than she is.