These days when so many of us are doing a lot of our work from home, our co-workers may be a bit different than they were in a traditional office or store. My home-office co-worker is a companion I couldn’t do without – Raleigh the Ragdoll cat. That’s pronounced rah-lee. He keeps me company, purrs and snuggles, distracts me as deadlines near, reminds me that I am only a human while he is a dangerous predator, and inspires me with his beauty. Raleigh is a male Ragdoll who had his fifteenth birthday yesterday. He has shared my home in Little Rock, Arkansas, for the last five years.

Raleigh is a particularly good listener when I need to practice a presentation or class. He might just walk off if he gets really bored, but I know not to take it personally. Raleigh has high standards. He is used to listening to interesting scholarly talks and classes. He came to me from a relative who has a PhD in English literature and has done a lot of teaching and lecturing.

Raleigh’s first mommy named him after one of her favorite historical characters, Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 – 1618). The human Raleigh was one of the favorite courtiers of Queen Elizabeth, I of England. He may be most famous in the popular imagination for the probably apocryphal story that he once threw his cloak over a mud puddle so that the queen could walk across without getting her feet muddy. Raleigh was also a soldier and explorer. He funded the American colony of Roanoke, which mysteriously vanished in 1588. Raleigh the cat’s first mommy would tell you that Sir Walter Raleigh was also a poet, and quite a good one. Judging from his portraits, he was also a good-looking guy who is said to have charmed many a lady. The name is appropriate for Raleigh the cat, who is as charming and handsome as can be.

If you aren’t familiar with Ragdoll cats, they are a large and fluffy breed. They are famous for loving to stay close to their humans. The breed gets its name because many of them, including Raleigh, so delight in being held that they will go limp in the arms of their favorite human. I often hold him up to look out a window, which he loves. Raleigh is very friendly. The first time a plumber came to fix my sink after Raleigh arrived, as the plumber lay on the floor to get to the pipes, Raleigh climbed up on his hip to watch him work. So, if you come to visit my home office, Raleigh will probably come out and say “hi.”