The Bellamy Project

Meet Bellamy

Bellamy is an orange tabby with a downtown high rise apartment, a strong opinion about window birds, and an out of this world purrrrrrrsonality. This is the story of his journey toward becoming a certified therapy cat — the training, the small wins, the occasional spectacular failures, and what it actually takes to turn a good companion into a source of comfort for other people.

He's joined on the way by Katya, who adopted him during a season of big change — a divorce after 24 years of marriage, a move into an apartment in the city, and a return to graduate school at 47. Bellamy was supposed to be company. He turned out to be a teacher. The patience, steadiness, and second chances that go into training a cat, it turns out, look a lot like rebuilding a life.

The Bellamy Project is about connection, purpose, and emotional wellbeing — explored one paw at a time.

What you'll find here

Training — Weekly progress toward therapy-cat certification: the wins, the setbacks, and the lessons in between.

The Science — What research actually says about the human-animal bond, stress reduction, and animal-assisted wellbeing.

Midlife Reinvention — Honest notes on starting over: grad school, career change, and building a life that's genuinely yours.

Urban Living — Making a rich, happy life for a cat (and a person) in a Minneapolis high-rise.