The Cat Lady is one of those annoying people who gets a headache maybe twice a year. ... Good genes maybe? Could well be. Last month I was in NY congratulating my aunt for her 100th birthday.

So today when I woke up feeling a bit dizzy and headachy, it caught me off guard. It's not my usual morning routine.

Ignoring my pending writing deadlines, I downed lots of water and juice, gnawed on a piece of stale bread, then headed outside to sit in the breeze under our only surviving grapevine – not the prettiest area, but at least it was out of the sun. (It's only in the 70s today. Our heatwave is over.)

When nothing improved for me after a few hours, I heated up some chicken soup. I prefer it with rice, but only had chicken noodle. So be it. Moments after I settled into an easy chair, along came Stavi to join me. As I sipped my soup, the kitten purred and wanted to be wrapped up in my blouse (kangarooed).

The meditative time of bonding with our junior kitty did something positive for us both. Stavi napped. My headache went away. A cat's purr is soothing and some say it lowers the blood pressure and gives us all sorts of healing benefits. What do you think? Did the soup or the cat cure me of my ills today?

I suspect it was a little of both.

Q: Do you have a cat who helps you relax?