The Scars We Wear: My Husband’s Cat Tried to Take My Face Off

The Scars We Wear:

My Husband’s Cat Tried to Take My Face Off

Six years ago, I rescued a tiny five-week-old stray, bottle-fed him, named him Grayson, and loved on him like the furry son he absolutely is not, because he belongs to my husband, Brett. From the very first day Grayson came home with me, he and Brett developed an instant bromance… and they have been inseparable ever since.

Three weeks ago, Grayson went full alien on my face.

His claws hit before I could even react, and the damage was done. I'd like to say it was dramatic and cinematic, but ... it was not. It was a Wednesday.

I looked like I'd lost a bar fight to something with better reflexes and zero remorse, which, honestly, is an accurate description of a typical house cat, right? I had bruising, scratches, open cuts, and the kind of face that makes strangers decide not to make eye contact with me in the Publix checkout line. My bathroom mirror and I were not even on speaking terms anymore.

And in the middle of all of that, my dear friend Sam Ghanem stepped in like the MVP she is. She sent anti-scar cream, homeopathic pain-numbing tablets, and a very appropriately chosen coffee mug that carried me through those first few days post-trauma. Because when life gets a little unhinged, you find out very quickly who your people are.

A Definite Honorable Mention goes to my friend Alyssa Nicotra, who came over

and scrubbed a pool of blood off our stone-tile floor while Brett and I were in the Emergency Room. On her birthday. Brett called in that favor without a single hesitation, because he was genuinely more worried about a permanent stain on the tile than about the fact that Alyssa had birthday plans. I love him, but he is absolutely feral < tongue-in-cheek > when it comes to our floors.

For a moment after the attack, I had the thought: ‘Maybe I should just disappear for a few days. Stop posting online. Stay off camera. Draw as little attention to myself as possible until everything looks normal again. Wait until my face heals, the story fades, and I can show up looking like someone who has her life together instead of someone who just lost a territorial dispute with a 12-pound tabby.’

That negative thought showed up fast, and I caught it just as quickly. Because I know exactly where that road leads.

It starts with waiting for your face to heal. Then you wait for your energy to come back. Then you wait for the timing to feel right. Then you wait for your content to feel perfect. Before you know it, you have built an entire system around waiting. It's Avoidance, really.

And avoidance doesn't make anything better. It just teaches you that showing up requires perfect conditions, and perfect conditions are a fairy tale that busy, building, growing entrepreneurs cannot afford to believe in.

So, I made a decision.

Consistency is a non-negotiable in my business. I show up online every day. I create content every day. I stay visible every day. Not because every day feels inspired or polished or photogenic, but because motion equals results and momentum compounds over time. My business is not a hobby. I’m building an empire, and empires require consistent leadership, visibility, and execution. My success was not going to pause for a healing face.

So I showed up. Cuts and all, with a slightly ridiculous story to tell and a cat who clearly had zero regrets about his life choices. And do you know what happened?

Nothing fell apart. Nothing broke, except for maybe my pride. No one questioned my credibility. No one screamed and ran the other direction. If anything, people leaned in more. And I realized something… people don’t connect with perfection. They connect with movement, with leadership in action. They connect with someone who shows up, handles life, and keeps going.

We ALL have scars. Some of mine are just very visible right now, and I’m completely fine with that. I’m not angry about it, because every single one of my scars is a receipt. Proof that something happened, I handled it, and I kept moving forward. The business scars, the life scars, the physical ones I reference casually because dwelling on it has never once closed a deal. They all live in the same category, and they all carry the same message: I kept going.

Now let’s talk about what this means for you, because this isn’t just a story about a cat losing his mind. This is about how you’re showing up in your business, or more specifically, how you’re not.

I see it all the time. Brilliant entrepreneurs with incredible businesses slow themselves down because they’re waiting (there's that ugly word again) for conditions to feel right. Waiting for the branding to be perfect. Waiting for the message to sound better. Waiting for more confidence, more clarity, more of something external to give them permission to move.

Meanwhile, less qualified people are out there building relationships, making noise, closing deals, and collecting opportunities that should have your name on them. And, I promise you - it's not because they’re better than you… it's because they’re moving. They’re taking action. And every step forward brings them that much closer to what you’re sitting around… still waiting for.

So let me give you something practical you can use right now.

Your visibility doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be Consistent. Your content doesn’t need to be groundbreaking. It needs to be Present. Your message doesn’t need to impress everyone. It needs to Connect with the right people.

Start simple. Pick one platform where your audience already spends time and commit to showing up there five days a week. Not when you feel ready. Not when it feels convenient. Five days a week, on purpose.

Use this structure to guide you:

• Share what you’re building

• Share what you’re learning

• Share what you’re seeing in your industry

• Share what your clients are struggling with

• Share what you’d do differently if you were starting today

Rotate through those five “shares” and you’ll always have something to say. Layer in video whenever you can, because people trust what they can see. Keep it simple. Keep it moving. Keep showing up. Motion = Results.

Now, back to Grayson (a.k.a. Mr. Murder Mittens) for just a second. Grayson, for his part, has not apologized. He’s been sleeping on our bed like a king, which is either a peace offering or a power move, and I genuinely cannot tell. What I can tell is that cat is currently living his best life.

And I’m still showing up, still building, still leading, and still moving forward with the face I have today. The very next day after my alien-cat attack, with half my face bruised and my right eye swollen shut, I showed up to three business-networking meetings, because visibility isn’t conditional when you’re serious about your business growth. That’s the part I want you to take with you.

You don't need a different version of yourself to move forward. You need to move forward with the version you have right now... The one who’s building... The one who’s figuring things out.. The one who might have a few scratches and still gets up and does the work. That’s the version people trust. That’s the version people buy from. And, for sure, that’s the version that creates momentum.

So here’s the question I want you to ask yourself:

What are you hiding behind right now?

A rough week? Maybe imposter syndrome? The idea that you need to wait until everything looks polished before you let people see you working? Because… I promise you, the version of you that shows up scratched, tired, and still moving is far more compelling than the version waiting for perfect.

Your audience doesn’t need your highlight reel... They just need to see you in motion.

Scars, chaos, questionable cat ownership decisions, and all.

Show up anyway.

P.S. - Grayson is Brett’s cat. I want that on record.