A farewell to Jasmine

Jasmine, adorable cat, internet pioneer, and companion of Kevin and Marian Drum, died today. She was nine.

You are either a cat person, or you aren't. With qualifications: one can like dogs, as I do, or even be a dog person, as Hockeyman is, and still be a cat person.

Jasmine and Inkblot are the original catblog stars. Countless people visited Mr. Drum's site to check out his cats or send photos of their own feline friends. The New York Times wrote an early article about Mr. Drum and his cats, though only Jasmine was willing to pose for the photographer. Finally, after years of "Friday Cat Blogging," Mr. Drum grew exhausted and began intermittent cat photos. Still there, was always the occasional cat blog to enjoy, until today's unhappy post.

Amazingly, 353 people responded with condolences (full disclosure: me, too.)


We can all point to zillions of ways the world is going to hell, but the outpouring of fellow-feeling is reason for a sliver of hope.