The only cat I'd ever lived with was the demon cat from hell that my mom got when I was in my early teens. My memories of that cat consist of walking home from the school bus stop and getting ambushed everyday from behind the shrubbery, and watching her terrorize neighborhood dogs. That cat was MEAN!
I don't like cats. I'm a dog person.
Three years after my sweet 16 year old cockerpoo died, my grieving heart had finally healed enough that I was considering getting another dog. That's when life threw me the first curve ...
My dad died and my mom came to live with us. Along with mom came 2 cats ... Patty and Squirt. If you want to read the whole detailed story, you can find it here in the December 2022 blogs. The cats had been here for 6 months when I wrote that blog. We were all still adjusting to each other.
Now another 5 months have passed. We all have seemed to survive quite well, and I'm here to give you an update. I still consider myself to be a dog person, but I can no longer say I don't like cats.
Patty and Squirt schmoozed their way into living at our house. And for the past 11 months, the schmoozing has not let up one little bit. Patty is a mere 7 lbs of sophistication and snottiness. She can cut you a look across the room that makes you think perhaps she's plotting how she's gonna' take you out. After you've lived with her a while, you won't be afraid of her, but still she's got an air of royalty about her that let's you know that you are the lowly peasant and she is the Queen. She won't come when you call her, but if you sit on the couch and ignore her, she'll come curl up beside you, stretch out that one paw to lay on your arm or leg, and go to sleep. I suspect she owns us, rather than the other way around.
Squirt is our 15 lb good ol' boy. He just wants to explore and have fun. Together they are like an old married couple. She's the sensible matron who keeps everybody under control and on a tight schedule. He's the fun guy who never quite finished growing up. He'll chase and wrestle with her until she's had enough. She'll play for a while, but when she says STOP!, he stops. Patty rules the roost.
Mom was in the habit of feeding stray cats on her back patio. Most of the cats she fed stayed aloof and on the outside in the yard. But then one day you-know-who sashayed right up to her back door like he owned the place. Well, hello, squirt! she said, and let him come on in. That's how it began and how he got his name.
Patty is his personal groomer. She'll tire of the chasing and wrestling – and lets him know it! – and then deserts him in favor of a favorite napping spot on a cushioned bench where she can watch the birds coming to our in-window bird feeder. Squirt comes and plops himself down, practically on top of her, and soon she's licking him all over his face and head. He closes his eyes, and twists and turns his head so she'll hit all the right spots ... like a couple of lovebirds. It's really sweet in a nauseating sort of way.
As for me, he's been schmoozing me for months now. We all have gotten into the habit of spending a few minutes together on the couch before closing down for the night. Patty and Squirt don't like being held, but Patty will come and join us as long as she thinks it was her idea. If you're patient and let Squirt initiate it, he'll come and lay across your lap. And what else is there to do but just sit there and scratch him all about his head and neck, under his chin, behind his ears, and wherever he indicates as he turns and stretches and puts just the right spot under your hand.
Yep ... he's gotten the upper hand, and now it's all over but the shoutin' ...
Is it possible to be a dog person AND a cat person?
I'm so confused! I've been pondering all this for a while ... it's an issue for me, because these cats are still young, and when my mom passes I'm going to be left with these two for another decade at least ...
And while I've been pondering this and trying to decide how I feel about it, along came the second curve that life threw my way ... we were going to have a visitor soon ...