This are my darling kitties! Aren't they sweet? On the left is Schiller, the Grand Old Man of the house. I've had Schiller since he was just two weeks old (way back in 1989)! He's part Siamese, part God-only-knows, and I adore him. His fur is soft and silky, he has big, blue-green eyes, and such an affectionate disposition, it's hard to believe he's a cat. He loves to snuggle and purr, though his snuggling is getting a little sloppy in his old age - he head-butts my cheek instead of just rubbing these days, he's getting a little slow and lazy. Even in his dotage, though, he's quite a character, talking to me as I go about my day, as if I have even half a clue what he's saying. *shrug* He doesn't seem to mind the language barrier, and honestly, neither do I.
On the right is the newest addition to the family, Bailey. Bailey is just a few months old, I got him on Memorial Day weekend completely on the spur of the moment. My precious Persian, Sydney (who was also coal black), had just died in my arms two weeks previously at the age of one year. I really wasn't sure I was ready for another kitten so soon after losing my Syd, but one look at Bailey, and I just had to take him home! Bailey is the weird one of my two feline friends (not coincidentally, he's the one most like me!), preferring either to sit upon my shoulder to chew on my ear or on my hair, or to attempt to post to Usenet by sitting on my keyboard. He's also been known to lean off my shoulder to swat at the cursor flitting across my screen (much like he's doing now as I'm trying to type!)
The greatest thing about animals is that they love you no matter what. They never make demands, they never call you names or tell you that they can't love you unless you live up to some image - they just love you, no questions asked.
People could learn a lot from critters.