Meet the Mayor

Full Name:  Simba Nemo (I know, I know... My kids were 6, 4, and 2 years old when we adopted him.  We're lucky the name isn't worse!)

Nicknames: Sim, Simmy, Beans, SimbaBubbles, Chunky Thunk

Birthdate: August 14, 2003 (making him nearly 9 years old)

"Gotcha" Day: October 8, 2003

Favorite activities: Eating, Birdwatching, Sunbathing, Destroying catnip toys, Sitting on pizza boxes, Knocking said pizza boxes on the floor, Napping with Duckie (the pillow pet that he stole from younger daughter)

Profession: Mayor and Sheriff of Teeny Tiny Tabby Town


We adopted Simba as a "playmate" for Einstein in 2003 when she was 10 years old.  Einstein made it quite clear she wasn't interested in a playmate, but the kids were thrilled.

Please note that the child in the photo is now 15 years old, looks nothing like this little girl any longer, and will be driving in a month.  For all of these reasons, I am sad.

Simba took on the role as pesky little brother to Einstein.  For years, he hid around corners to pounce on her as she walked by and tapped her tail while she slept.  Grizzly was his best friend by default since Madame Einstein wanted nothing to do with either of them.  Simba loved to wash Grizzly's head for him.  They hung out in sunbeams together.

I don't have many photos of him looking at the camera.  If he knows I'm paying attention to him, the photos often turn out like this:

Our big boy loves his food.  If you're ever in our kitchen, be prepared for Simba's version of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.  The words in his version have something to do with "starving to death".  He has lost three pounds in the past year and weighs in at roughly 15 pounds.  We're still working on it, but he's healthy and happy.  Even if we are starving him to death.

When we moved last summer, we had a full month between closing the sale of our old house and closing the sale of our new house.  So I left Traverse City Michigan and headed off to my parents' house in Florida with 3 kids and a cat.  Neither Mom nor cat were tranquilized for the journey.

I cannot see this photo without hearing Kermit and Fozzie singing "Moving Right Along".  You're welcome for the ear worm.

Turns out that our Simba is a very good passenger.  He would let us know during the first half-hour of each leg of the trip that he would prefer to be elsewhere, but then settled in quickly... either on someone's lap or on the tray table between the front seats.  He kept a paw on my thigh while I drove.  It was adorable right up until I took a turn he wasn't ready for (claws + dressed for July heat = you do the math)  He also taught us that drive-thru windows were pretty much out of the question after he tried to join the lunch shift at McDonalds.

He has accepted our recent permanent and foster additions to the family relatively gracefully, although he has assumed more of an alpha role than he did with Einstein and Grizzly.  Simba is unquestionably in charge, although he rarely fights to prove it.  He will raise a paw if someone gets too close in the kitchen, but that's about the extent of it.  He prefers people to other animals, which is why I was thrilled when this happened:

For all the Norman fans... Here's your first look at the old man.  Please note Simba was there first and Norman joined the party.  It would have never happened any other way.