The Cat Ladies of Benzie County

I think you’re either a “cat person” or not. Is there an in between? I don’t know.

- EMILY HOPCIAN

One of the greatest gifts my mom has given me is a love of animals, especially cats.

Her career as a veterinarian and her love of helping animals have given our family plenty of stories over the years. She once gifted my dad, who is not the biggest cat lover, a kitten for their wedding anniversary after he casually told her, “Surprise me.” Eighteen years later, Louis Gordon, the cat, is still with us. My dad, Gordon Louis, is too.

In middle school, I joined a carpool for my swim team. Our first day, my mom came home from work with no time to spare—and cat litter spilled all over the back of the car. Without time to clean it up, we picked up my friends, including my crush at the time, and went to practice. Cue the flushed face emoji. Another fond memory, in high school: three of my friends dressed up as my family’s cats for Halloween.

There’s also the time one of our cats set off our neighbor’s alarm while they were on vacation. Another time, my dad nearly put a hole in our basement wall to “rescue” that same cat, as we could hear him crying. My sister found him in the garage of our dollhouse minutes before my dad dug into the wall.