[dc]T[/dc]he Hogan family grew in size today (our family, not the TV show). Stephanie and I adopted a second cat from the Capital Area Humane Society: Rags J. Hogan.

cat photo

Hey, y’all it is Rags the Cat. Photo by Stephanie.

Rags joins Nigel as one of our fuzzy charges at Hogan Manor. Both are long-haired fellows, and on the big side. Nigel tips the scales at about 12 lbs., while Rags comes in at a hair over 13 pounds. Stephanie and I have a fondness for big cats, apparently. While the story of Nigel’s adoption is one of drama, crying, and table shopping, Rags’ tale is a bit more average: Stephanie wanted to adopt a second cat for the past year (basically five minutes after adopting Nigel). We met Rags over the weekend, and he was very friendly (always a good sign).

nigel the cat by daniel j. hogan

Nigel has to share his bow tie now. Photo by me.

I shared concerns about bringing a new cat home, worried Nigel wouldn’t like it (last thing I want is a kitty version of West Side Story or The Warriors¹playing out in our living room). Stephanie researched how to introduce cats to each other, and made her case to me. I agreed, and Stephanie picked up Rags this afternoon. Taking care of two cats is pretty much the same amount of work as one–I hope the boys get along with each other, but we’ll take it slow. Part of the reason we adopted another cat was so Nigel would have company during the day (he is a very social cat).

Of course, this means twice as many hairballs now. I told Stephanie though, she’s on hairball duty for the next six-months. Good thing we adopted rags before I drew this year’s Christmas card (now I get to draw TWO cats. Hooray).

Speaking of drawing cats, I need to get Rags in a comic soon. I was on the fence about keeping his came with the frame name, but I like how “Nigel and Rags” sounds. There’s a bit of a Pinky and The Brain feeling there.

Mom, true to form, responded to my email about Rags with: “Was hoping for a less hairy human addition to your family but will love him until other options come up!” (See also: I Think My Mother is Trying to Tell Me Something) IT BEGINS


¹ Although, gangs of cats and kittens dressed in silly outfits would be pretty darn cute.

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