Surprise, after all these years, I just learned what I am.
A cat lover.
When I was a wee lad we had a dog.
A cocker spaniel named Honey, for her coloration.
Dad had to "put her down" when she became old and incontinent.
It was hard for him and the next day when he told me how he had buried her in our back yard the tears came and it was a bleak day for me as well as him.
I recall an orange cat named Pete that was with us, sort of, for awhile.
But "resident cats" began when SWMBO and I were first married in Indianapolis.
We had Primo (a big black cat) and Pax (a gray and white one) that accompanied us to Arizona.
Then there was Shadow, a beautiful but slightly ill-tempered gray one.
I used to say her full name was Velvet Shadow Bitin' Bitch.
In more recent years we adopted Chulapay (that's Spanish for Cutie Pie) in Mexico.
She lasted through moves from Mexico to Austin, Texas, and back to several homes in Arizona.
Then there was Jazz, who never met a box she didn't like.
And another gray one showed up and grew into a gargantuan size.
We called him Smoke.
And then came Muggles.
At one time we had three cats at once, the most we could handle.
I don't remember Muggles ever being this feisty or Smoke this placid but I guess they were, at least for this picture.
Jazz, sensing trouble a-brewing, chose a careful niche to stay out of the way.
And finally my beloved Blackwell.
When he showed up as a needy little kitten, with bloody sores around his neck from a scrap with something, he seemed like such a street tough that I named him Blacky Detroit.
We lost him only a few months ago and so we're down to what we're calling Our Last Cat.
Muggles has come into her own since Blackwell left.
Judy thinks he bullied her, I say he just wanted to play.
At any rate, Muggles now "talks" whenever anyone comes near her, demanding to be petted.
But she still clings to Judy as Blackwell hung around me.
Funny how cats do that, picking one human over another as their favorite.
Kind of like us picking a favorite cat.
Muggles is 14 now and spends most of her elder years doing what she does best.
Sleeping.
Not a cat lover, though I suspect they can grow on you. I do respect them, amazing creatures.
ReplyDeleteCats rule!
ReplyDeleteMy family had more cats than dogs. They seemed to favour my mother.
No pets here.
ReplyDeleteSteve
We have always had dogs until being adopted by a lost cat on a cold snowy night in a factory area. We had the dear boy for 18 years and he loved all of the dogs we had during that time and they all loved him. Pets are dear creatures. I loved seeing pics of all your cats.
ReplyDeleteA parade of cats. They will haunt you forever, of course.
ReplyDeleteThe calico pictured as my blog header actually belonged to my youngest son. She was a hateful thing, from the time we brought her home as a kitten. Hick reached into the pet carrier and said, "Here, kitty-kitty," and she howled and took a swipe at him. Of course she chose ME as her person. Avoided everyone else, but would jump up on me as I sat on the porch, climbing up to lay on my chestal area and purr. Birds of a feather, perhaps. She saw me as a kindred spirit...
ReplyDeleteI've learned a new word! Thank you very much. What a beautiful assortment of cats you've had. I might have to go to the photo box and see how many cats I've had over the years. It's been a few.
ReplyDeleteYou've had quite a furry connection with these beauties over the years. We've only had one cat, Bonsai who was with us for 13 years. I would like to get a dog, but I'm not sure we ever will. I also grew up with a Cocker Spaniel. Her name was Taffy. Still love that girl.
ReplyDeleteCats on parade! I had several cats over the years and so, although I have a dog now, I share your ailurophilia. Great pictures! They really capture all the animals' personalities.
ReplyDelete