Welcome to The Bellamy Project

If you had told me a few years ago that I would be writing a blog about training a therapy cat, I probably would have laughed.

Yet here we are.

This is Bellamy.

Bellamy is an orange tabby with a downtown Minneapolis apartment, a fascination with birds outside the window, and a level of curiosity that often seems deeper than the humans around him. What started as adopting a companion has become something much bigger: a journey toward therapy-cat certification and a lesson in what it means to create connection, trust, and purpose.

The Bellamy Project began during a season of major change in my life.

In the span of a couple of years, I went through a divorce, returned to graduate school in my late forties, and began reimagining what the next chapter of my life might look like. Like many people rebuilding after loss or transition, I wasn't looking for a grand plan. I was looking for steady ground.

Bellamy arrived as company.

What I didn't expect was that he would become a teacher.

Training a cat is an exercise in patience. Cats do not care about your timeline. They do not respond to pressure. They don't read productivity books or goal-setting frameworks. They simply show up as themselves every day.

Some days Bellamy surprises me with a breakthrough. Other days he reminds me that progress isn't always linear. Sometimes the lesson is persistence. Sometimes it's flexibility. Sometimes it's accepting that growth takes longer than you hoped.

Those lessons have extended far beyond therapy-cat training.

They've influenced how I approach graduate school. How I think about career transitions. How I navigate uncertainty. How I define success. Most importantly, they've changed how I think about starting over.

The goal of The Bellamy Project is simple: to document the journey.

You'll find weekly updates on Bellamy's training, including successes, setbacks, and whatever unexpected adventures occur along the way. I'll share research on the human-animal bond and the science behind animal-assisted wellbeing. I'll write about midlife reinvention, graduate school, career growth, and what it looks like to build a life that feels genuinely aligned with who you are.

You'll also find stories about urban living with a cat in a Minneapolis high-rise, because therapy-cat training is only part of the adventure. The rest involves creating a rich, happy life for both of us in the middle of the city.

I don't know exactly where this journey will lead.

Maybe Bellamy will become a certified therapy cat who brings comfort to students, older adults, or people navigating difficult moments in their lives.

Maybe I'll learn that the destination matters less than the process.

Either way, we're glad you're here.

Welcome to The Bellamy Project.

— Katya & Bellamy