Cats and Cattitude

Bella (lying down) and Mitzi decided they both wanted to perch.  

Mitzi was a rescue cat and I inherited Bella. She came to stay while my daughter was away for a long weekend.  Then when my daughter moved into a place that didn't allow pets, Bella became a permanent resident with me.






I've always had cats...plus a dog here and there along with sundry animals such as lambs and calves, chooks (chickens), ducks and baby pukekos (swamp or moorhens) when we lived on the farm.  Of course that doesn't include frogs, tadpoles and other miscellaneous fauna that seemed to make their way to our farmhouse.

However, I qualify for the Crazy Cat Lady stakes as cats seem to be my mainstay for domestic pets.  Since I was a child I've had shorthairs, longhairs, tabbies, gingers, blacks, greys plus a calico and tortoiseshell or two.  Cat people run in the family...my mother and my late stepfather, a couple of brothers, sundry cousins and my daughters, one especially. 

I once heard someone say  that cats are psycho, that's why women understand them...I think that's simplifying the matter. Cats are deep, mysterious, independent, psychic and graceful...much like a lot of women (cat owners, of course).  Plus they do not hesitate in letting one know if they're displeased or offended...as we do.  That's not psycho...that's being open with one's feelings.  Cats are very loving when they get their own way...as we are.

I had a beautiful longhaired cat who thought he was a dog.  He loved me throwing a ball and would bat it back to me.  We would play hide and seek until he got himself so over excited he would shoot out the cat door to calm down.  We fought over my computer chair (I have a friend who complains about the same thing with her cat...I think it's a male thing).  I think my boy regarded the computer as a competitor for my attention as I worked from home at that stage, therefore spending a lot of time on my machine.

Cats hate being on the other side of a closed door.  I can no more go to the bathroom or have a shower with the door closed than fly to the moon.  I tried it once...trust me, it wasn't worth the cat tantrum that ensued.  Both of them...paws under the door trying to get it open, yowling and howling as if there were a hundred devils after them (or a snake but then they'd probably kill that).  For the sake of peace I leave the door open a tad and they come and go as they please.

Of course, the bed and the furniture are not out of bounds with cats, either.  Ever tried keeping them off?  I know who'd win...cats have the ability to keep on doing what they do do (apologies to T S Elliot) regardless of all the deterrents you can think up.    So if you have a cat, here's a bit of advice...give in gracefully; they always win.

Am I at the mercy of their whims and fancies?  Damn right and I wouldn't have it any other way.