January 30: CINNAMON. Many Thanks to Tessa K. (Itsa me! Nom de Plume) for today’s prompt, as we take a moment or two each day this month to reflect on words that come from the community. And thanks to Linda G Hill for getting us organized!

I don’t know what they put in the new cat food formula the veterinarian gave me, but it sure had an affect on my old Tuxedo cat, Tolstoy. We’ve been together for about 15 years, and he’s gone from fluffy, with wizard locks beside each ear and a sage, but kittenish expression, to a bony-bummed, splay-legged, swinging belly, rheumy-eyed dreamer who seeks the sun’s warm rays in winter, but loves snuggling at night. We have a lot in common, in our respective old ages.

But lately, he hasn’t wanted to eat. His meow has turned into a ragged bleat. He doesn’t ask as many questions but still wants to go out in the sub-zero cold, if only for a minute (his little furry paws are already so cold, so I’ve had to refuse him). Is he depressed? Catching my feelings as I tense up on grocery runs, wondering if the car tailing me is going to pull me over because it doesn’t like the way I look? Feeling useless because he can’t make my sadness and fear go away by reading to me, making biscuits on my thighs, singing the song of his people when he wants to play?

So, I brought Tolstoy to the vet, wondering if his stage 1 kidney disease has rolled into stage 2 or worse. I know his arthritis is painful in this cold weather, and watch as he struggles to walk, his back legs bent to 45 degree angles.

The vet listens—like all good-hearted medicos do—and after giving Tolstoy his arthritis shot, hands me something to sprinkle in his cat food. So I do, and Tolstoy brightens, dances around the kitchen and races up and down the stairs several times, and is having an reminiscently good time with his toy chipmunk that used to be stuffed with catnip. Bunny kicks to beat the band! He looks happy, and then he starts speaking in human language , tells me his name is Cinnamon, not Tolstoy, and that he has suffered his entire life with having to live under the expectations put upon him by having a name with such gravitas.

I’m waiting for the sprinkles to wear off but am delighted that he gets to live as his true self, even if only for a short while. And I’m also online, setting up an appointment with the vet, just in case things go south…      

© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2026) 

To read others’ responses or join in yourself, please visit:  https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/30/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-30th-2026/