To forestall the inevitable trolling (and boy, have I experienced a lot of that!) I must state that I unequivocally refuse to exploit my cat. Yes, I did turn down two offers for Spock to endorse cat products, and no, I am not crazy. I have always considered people who would exploit their kids or their pets for personal monetary gain to be several shades of despicable. That said, now the furor has died down, I now have a community of about 7700 followers who are very interested in the pictures I post, and the messages I’m giving. I have to do something with this.

Ever wonder what it’s like for those involved when you see something Trending and Viral? Last week, I was a happy retired lady, lunching with friends, painting for fun, and my biggest worry was the declining health of my mother in law. Then the article in our local weekly newspaper ran. My life changed instantly. And not for the better.

Cue the scream.

It all started out as a bit of a lark. Sure – run a fun fluff piece in the weekly newspaper. Agree to a local late night news story as a favor for a friend?