The Book That Almost Wasn’t: A Love Letter to Boris Katloff

Last updated on April 9, 2025

When I first started writing Barely Funny – A Sphynx Cat Joke Book, the goal was simple: to bottle up the weird, wonderful humor that only a cat like Boris could inspire. He was my sphynx cat, my sidekick, my little gremlin—and the funniest soul I’ve ever met. Every joke in that book started with him: the way he’d flop dramatically across the couch, give me a look of pure disdain, or start spontaneous “zoomie” attacks during video calls. He didn’t just live with me—he starred in our life together.

But halfway through writing, Boris died.

It was sudden. And it shattered me.

For days, I couldn’t even look at the manuscript. The absurd little jokes about sphynx cats being sun-loving, heat-seeking goblins felt too raw. Too close. The humor I had built out of our daily silliness now echoed with grief. Every pun was a reminder that Boris wasn’t curled up in his favorite heated blanket anymore. That he wouldn’t interrupt my writing by knocking over water glasses or walking across the keyboard like he owned the place (because he did).

I thought about shelving the book. Maybe forever. Who was I even writing this for anymore?

But grief has a funny way of turning inward and asking hard questions. The truth is, I hadn’t written Barely Funny just to make people laugh. I’d written it to celebrate a bond—mine and Boris’s. To capture a slice of our ridiculous, beautiful friendship before it faded into memory. To turn the ache into something that might help others smile, even if just for a page or two.

So I kept writing.

Finishing the book became a way to keep Boris with me a little longer. Publishing it? That became an act of resilience. A way to honor him, and to share the warmth, the strangeness, the stubborn little spark he brought into my life. I wanted the book to feel like him: oddball, affectionate, a little dark, and deeply, weirdly funny.

It’s not just a joke book anymore. It’s a goodbye. And a thank you.

To everyone who’s ever loved and lost a pet who felt like family: I hope Barely Funny makes you laugh through your tears. I hope it reminds you that humor doesn’t erase grief—but it can sit beside it. Like a cat in the sun, curling up next to your broken heart, purring softly until you’re ready to feel okay again.

Barely Funny – A Sphynx Cat Joke Book is available for Pre-Order on Amazon

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