Hello, and thank you for joining me in the very first session of the Cozy Corner! This spot is meant to feel like exhaling — a place you can come to relax, learn, and settle into something gentler. I never sat down and planned to create a “corner” like this. It just slowly formed on its own, the way warm light spreads across a room without you noticing until suddenly everything feels softer.
But before anything else, let me introduce myself.
It’s funny — most people know me as “Theodore’s mom” or simply “mom” in our TikTok LIVEs (a title I hold with so much pride). But I do, in fact, have a name. I’m Merissa! It’s very nice to meet you — whether this is our first moment together or you’ve been here since the very beginning.
Anyway–Positively_Theodore didn’t burst onto the scene all at once. It grew slowly, the way Theodore himself curls into a new blanket — careful at first, then fully committed. Over the years of loving him, friends would gush not just over his face (which, yes, is objectively perfect — I can’t fight facts) but over the sweetness of who he is. There’s a softness in him that people notice immediately.
I had mulled around the idea for awhile, questions always inching closer to the front of my mind. What would a page about him even be? Why should I do it? Who would care about our story?
Those questions stayed unanswered until I joined a Facebook support group for FIV+ cat owners. And suddenly, I was met with post after post filled with fear, grief, guilt, and exhaustion. The kinds of worries that sit heavy on the chest. While we had deflected the occasional comment (“Why keep a cat with AIDS? You should get rid of him”), what I saw in that group was deeper — a community carrying the weight of stigma every single day.
From there, something in me shifted. It felt like watching a room dim and realizing you could turn on a lamp.
I realized I could become a small, steady voice for FIV+ cats — a source of warmth, clarity, and myth-busting for people who weren’t being heard. So I made my first infographic explaining the ins and outs of FIV life. I posted it to the group, and it received so much love that it felt like a sign: start sharing.
And so @Positively_Theodore was born. (Why the name? Because Theodore is, of course, positive for FIV. I had to, haha. It was right there!).
In late May of 2025, I began something I didn’t fully understand yet (and, truthfully, still don’t). I was building not just a page, but a foundation — a mission Theodore and I would grow into together. As the page found its rhythm, so did the community. Soft lighting on LIVEs, long stretches of calm, thousands of virtual pets for Theodore, quiet laughter shared with strangers who somehow didn’t feel like strangers.
Those livestreams became little pockets of peace in the chaos of the internet. A consistent theme of comments would pop up, sweetly commending the space as, “cozy”. I can’t tell you how many people have messaged and said, “I accidentally just fell asleep here!” or, “Thank you so much for these LIVEs, they help me sleep when I’m struggling.” Through that, The Cozy Corner formed — not as content, but as a feeling. And that feeling grew into a mission.
Through educational videos, relaxing LIVEs, gentle humor, and stories straight from our home, Theodore and I hope to create a community — not just a list of followers — of people who care deeply for animals with special needs. A space for people to vent frustrations, share grief, celebrate victories, and call each other friends. A place you return to because the world feels a little easier here.
The Cozy Corner has already been shaped by your love, your comments, your messages, and every single moment you’ve spent with us. Theodore and I carry deep gratitude for that.
We are so excited to grow this space with you — slowly, intentionally, lovingly.
Until next time,
Theodore’s Mom (Merissa)
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Remember, we positively love you!
@Positively_Theodore 
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