I know, talking about one's cat on the internet is such a cliche, but as someone once pointed out, cliches exist because that's what people do commonly.
Cat pictures are not lame. Kitty porn (endless pictures of one's cat) is a little scary. Talking about your pet is, you know, sort of normal.
OK, here's a question -- why is talking about something you love, something about which you are vulnerable, considered such a bad thing? Is it that school yard tribe instinct that someone has a weakness, so everyone else should throw rocks and pretend they don't have any weaknesses? I don't quite get it, but I've seen it -- on some forums, if you display something that looks like a tender human emotion, there will be a group ready to descend on you, self appointed to tell you how [enter negative adjective of your choice] you are.
Anyway, Shawn, I enjoyed your cat stories. All of my cats are hard luck cases of one type or another. I'm certain that there's an invisible cat sign somewhere around my house (like the old hobo code) that tells other cats "SUCKERS LIVE HERE". I thought I'd left it behind when I moved, but apparently I packed it up without knowing it. We hadn't been here six months before 2 strays started hanging around and looking cute and hungry at me.