Of Cats and Me

Right now, I’m reading Charles Krauthammer’s book, Things That Matter. The book consists of essays that have appeared in his column over the years. I just finished reading his essay, Of Dogs and Man. I could not disagree with what he said in praise of his dog, Chester a black lab. Chester died at the age of 8 but not without dispensing all his love on the Krauthammer family.

 

I have always had a tender spot for animals. I always wanted a dog. When I was younger, my brother and I found a little black cocker spaniel puppy and brought him home. We both used the following lines on our parents, “Look what followed us home. Can we keep him? Please.”

 

We named the puppy Mikey or I did in my mind, because my brother said its name was Rusty. All those years have made our minds fuzzy, but I believed in my mind it was Mikey. When I had one of my son’s, I named him Mikey.

 

Mikey lived in our small house for a few days – whining and crying, peeing and pooping like a puppy. When my father went into the bathroom one night, he stepped, barefooted, on Mikey’s poop. The next day, Mikey was history.

 

When I married, I was eager to have my own dog. I always wanted a St. Bernard but my spouse was allergic to dogs…so that dream was history.

 

So, I settled on a cat. In our house, we had many cats. Some were affectionate; others were aloof, unless they wanted the food that you happened to be eating. Some of the names of the cats were Pierre, Barney, Sam, Butterscotch, Two Balls, Murphy, Archie, Rambo, Woody, Chopin and Scraps.

 

Now, I have two cats living with me and they are Woody and Scraps. They are affectionate, usually wanting to be sitting on my lap while I am knitting, or reading, or eating. Both cats follow me closely when I walk down the steps and go into the kitchen, eagerly waiting to be fed. They crowd me in bed when I am trying to sleep; Woody on my feet and Scraps next to my head.

 

Sometimes they irritate me but mostly they are my two constant companions. They love to be brushed and when I do brush them, they purr. They love to be petted and cuddled. They communicate to me in their own cat ways.  They are interesting creatures; graceful and beautiful. They are my pets, who show me affectionate. It is because of their trust and close bond with me, that I love them…despite the shedding, and hair balls and more.