All of my life I was a dog person. Cats never seemed too friendly to me- they couldn’t play fetch, they had that messy litter box, they scratched everything. I was a dog guy! When I was young, we had Prince the poodle. When Eva and I first got married we had Raisin the beagle, and then when Raisin passed, we got Magic the dachshund. When Magic passed, we took a break. I found particularly as I was getting older, I was dreading taking the dog out every day in the extreme heat and cold, snow and rain. She would have frequent accidents in the house. It was hard to get away- we either needed a dog sitter or had to take her to the kennel, where she always got sick. As a retiree in my golden years, a dog was a lot of work. So we decided to adopt a cat. When comedian Paula Poundstone was asked how she ended up with 16 cats, she replied “Easy- I had 15, and then I adopted one more!”. Well, before we knew it, in a short period of time we found ourselves with four cats- Susie, Emmy, Jesse and Cora. I never knew how affectionate and playful and entertaining they could be- each with their own very distinct personality. And they react differently with Eva and me- Eva’s experience with them is different. But from my perspective, let me introduce you to our cats-
Every single time I go to bed, no matter where she is in the house, Susie knows, hops up in the bed next to me, then jumps on the nightstand, turns around and sits next to me waiting to be petted. If I don’t, she’ll tap me with her paw to get my attention, and won’t stop until she gets her pets. Once she gets enough attention, then she’ll hop off the bed and go about her usual business. But it doesn’t matter if it’s morning, noon, or night- it’s the same routine every single time.
Emmy, on the other hand, likes to be petted when I’m reading the morning newspaper or solving that day’s crossword puzzle. She plops herself up on the newspaper on the kitchen table right in front of me, waiting for my attention. Which means I always have a hard time reading the paper or solving the crossword puzzle. If I move the newspaper, she’ll move, too. She purposely blocks my view so I am not distracted by that day’s headlines, and can spend my time with her.
Jesse has no particular routine habits with me, but he closely watches what the other cats are doing and always wants to join in. Jealous Jesse wants a piece of the action when I’m giving attention to any of the other cats. He looks at me with those sad eyes, that cry out “what about me?”
And lastly there’s Cora. It took her several years to come out of her shell, but now she is the most affectionate towards me of all the cats. Every morning she jumps up on me on the sofa as I’m watching the morning news, claws her way up to my face, and rubs her head all over my head, repeatedly. Then she’ll lay on my lap, and stay there until I get up. We got Cora last, and the other cats were not very accepting of her, but she feels safe when she’s up on my lap, and if the other cats try to get close, she’ll give them a hiss- this is my spot!
In my golden years, our cats are the perfect pets- they are great companions, always bring a smile to my face, and are easy to care for. It’s easy to get away for a day or two as they pretty much take care of themselves. I never thought I’d say this, but yes, you can call me a cat guy now! (Although I must admit I still love dog-sitting our loveable grand-dog, Princess, on occasion.)
UPDATE 2/4/2024 – Rest in peace, my dear Cora Cat
Leave a Reply