I’m a cat lover with a capital CL!! Don’t get me wrong, I’m fond of dogs, too. But, at this stage of life and with our frequent travel, cats seem to be the better current companions.
Adoption…
We adopted our cats from Greenhill Humane Society about a month after we got married. Prior to our engagement, when Tony was still kind of in his noncommittal stage 🙄 and I was leasing a condo, I told him, “I miss having my own home and a cat…and within a year, I’m going to have both, with or without you!” 😉 We got married on August 9, 2015, and were in Greenhill on September 13th!
After meandering through all of the “cat rooms” and the open areas eyeing and petting the various kitties, we got to THE last room. Tony was going back to have another look at the open area, and I entered the sequestered space. The cat I spotted captivated me at first glance. She was friendly with fluffy gray fur. She batted her sweet yearning eyes at me, and when I picked her up she melted in my arms purring. While petting and nuzzling her, I heard this kind of thud/scramble and I realized another cat had just tumbled out of a carpeted cat tree! This one was short-haired and skittish (and obviously a bit clumsy), afraid to be picked up, but shyly and nervously seeking affection by quickly rubbing my leg and then scurrying behind the cat tree.
I read the adoption paperwork and learned that these were two sisters; 6-12 months old by Greenhill’s estimation. They were found abandoned in a an apartment. 😿😿 The shelter’s vets had recently spayed and vaccinated them and they were introduced to the cattery just that morning for adoption. The catch was, they had to stay together.
Tony walked by and looked in the window. I pointed to the dark tabby in my arms and mouthed, “THIS is the one.” He came in and I said, “And her sister comes with her!”
Before we left, the long haired cat had puked on the floor. “That’s OK,” said the Greenhill attendant, “They do that sometimes.” Great, I thought. 🙄🤢 But, these were now OUR cats…for better or worse! We paid our fees, gathered our paperwork and food samples and took our caterwauling sisters secured in cardboard cat carriers to their forever home.
Here’s a pic from their adoption day, settled in on the bed, with their Greenhill collars on. They were both tiny at about 5 1/2 pounds. Their shelter names were Thelma and Louise. We could never remember which one was which…so we’d say, “You know, the short-haired one.” Or, “The long-haired cat did this and that.” Eventually, their names became “Longie” (Louise) and “Shortie” (Thema)… (very original, I know, but we never forget their names!) 🐈⬛🐈⬛
Lovely Longie…
We got to know their distinct personalities pretty quickly. Longie is the princess…no doubt about it. She is gentle, sweet, friendly, and mesmerizing. Seriously, almost EVERYONE, upon seeing this cat, either wants to pick her up, pet her, or take her home. “She’s magical!” “She’s so gorgeous!” “She’s blah-blah-blah!” Everyone loves Longie! Well, except those people who hate cats or who are allergic. Especially the latter, as she has the fluffiest, softest, most luxurious fur that flies around like dandelions in the wind!
Tony is Longie’s person —she’s adopted his lap, and sleeps with him when he is in the guest room (he is there often as he is a light sleeper…though perhaps he just prefers Longie’s company over mine! 😉). However, even though Longie adores Tony, she flirts with anyone who looks at her or pets her. She is our happy and eager greeter when visitors knock at the door. Longie is also part PIG, as eating kibble is her favorite pasttime. She wakes Tony up EVERY morning around 5:00 a.m. begging for food…EVEN IF she has food in the dish. She just wants him to get up, move the kibbles around (so she “knows” it’s fresh) and then she will eat it and he can go back to bed. It’s their ritual. It cracks me up!
Shy Shortie…
Shortie is the timid, introverted, and the kind-of-crabby-at-times Plain Jane sister of Lovely Longie. I can hear Shortie wail, “Everyone loves Longie, but what am I, chopped liver?” Shortie is sweet and affectionate, too, but in a different way. She NEEDS (and KNEADS) us…especially me…but it is always on her terms. She will never come sit on our laps in the evenings, preferring to seclude herself under the bed or on the futon in our upstairs loft area. But, when it’s bedtime, she is as predictable as clockwork.
If I’m late getting to bed, she comes downstairs, follows me into the bathroom while I’m brushing my teeth, trying to hurry me along by nuzzling my ankles and vocalizing little impatient meows.
Once in bed, she hops up on my chest and kneads for about 2 minutes, then goes to my feet, faces outwards, and sleeps there all night. She has claimed her territory, and her person, and I’m it!
Shortie has bonafide separation anxiety. She gets very uptight whenever we leave— even when heading out on foot for an hour’s walk. She often tries to follow us along the trail from our house to behind Riverbend Hospital. That would be ok, except she sometimes freaks out and runs off, and then takes a day or two to emerge from one of her hidey-holes to come home. We tried a cat harness and leash on Shortie once thinking that would be a safer way to take her on walks. However, she literally went berserk! Wish we’d have gotten a video of that, as it was pretty hilarious watching her bounce, run, flip and then finally burrow down refusing to move. She scratched and snarled when I removed the harness, but then licked my hand and rubbed up to my leg in loving repentance once she’d settled back down. In recent years, she becomes tired along the trail, and we have to pick her up to carry her the rest of the way home. Of course she hates that, too, and gets very catty…scratchy, squirmy, bitey and yowly. 😾 Oh joy!
Because of the detrimental “following issues,” we’ve taken to locking her in the house when we go for our walks. We can see her peeking sadly and rather pathetically through the cat door window, When we return, she is literally ecstatic to see us…purring, brushing against our legs, squinting her eyes, and quivering her upright tail. All signs of such love and relief that we are “finally” back❣️
Travel Travails and Triumphs…
We travel to Idaho (9 hour drive) every 6-8 weeks for about 10 days to visit Tony’s daughter Ann, husband Blair, and our two grandkids Haddon and Harlow. We have a second home there that we rent out on AirBNB when we are not visiting. We used to leave the cats home, and my daughter Jaydi would pop in and feed them, change out their litter box, etc. But, I always worry about Shortie when we are gone, as she REALLY needs human contact (other than getting food and a clean litter box). So, we (thank you sweet honey-bunches Tony 😉) now take the cats with us to Idaho most trips. Yes, it’s an ordeal. But, the end result is worth it (we keep telling ourselves, or I keep trying to convince Tony!). We dope them up with gabapentin and a hemp based “calming oil” and away we go. We started them out in a special screened kitty tunnel, but they hated it and complained loudly for hours on end. We gave in and let them out! They now rove around the Tahoe “free range.” We get lots of looks…especially at drive through restaurants!
There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.
Albert Schweitzer
Feline Family Ties…
Our beloved cats truly are our “kids” and you could probably refer to us as “Crazy Cat People.” We wouldn’t have it any other way! (Ok, maybe Tony would! HA!!!). Our “other” family members and SOME of our friends have also become buddies with our cats (or at least tolerable of them)!
Wonderful and Worthwhile!
Our cats are probably “middle aged” as cats go. They are no longer tiny kitties, but have almost doubled their weight to almost 10 pounds each. Over the past 8+ years, we’ve picked hairballs and puke off the carpet and bedspreads…(thank you Longie) and dead birds tucked in my shoe or under a blanket (courtesy of Shortie). We’ve tried a variety of collars on them to keep the birds safe including bells, and the “clown collar of shame” which they each promptly lost somehow. Shortie lost her collar with a tracking device shortly after purchase (and we never could track it!!) We’ve spend hundreds of dollars each year on vet bills, meds, flea treatments, premium food, yadda-yadda…but, whatcha gonna do?
Such is the life with cats! As with any wonderful worthwhile relationships in life, the ones with our kitties are worth investing our time and money…and are chocked full of joy, messiness, a scratch or two, forgiveness, humor, and love!
I have felt cats rubbing their faces against mine and touching my cheek with claws carefully sheathed. These things, to me, are expressions of love.
James Herriot
Outtakes…
What greater love than the love of a cat.
Charles Dickens
Ta-dah!
There, I have “talking incessantly about my cats” out of my system (for now!)! Thank you for indulging my sharing of cat antics and pics. (I have a thousand more if you want to see ‘em! 😜) I’m grateful, as always, that you chose to stop by the Blog. You are purr-fectly precious people!
Do YOU have a cat tale you’d like to share? I have a couple of Cat Tales as told to me by neighbors that I’m going to write up in a future blog. Feel free to email your “cat tale” (and a pic!) to me at sheddingsunshine@gmail.com to be included in a future blog (I’ll do your story proud…and maybe add embellishments!), or feel free to comment below!
Blessings!
I love cats, but glad I don’t have one 🤣😘
Same with me and dogs, Cindy! 😘😉
We have had many cats over the years. But do to Bill’s cat allergies they had to be outside cats mostly. And they do not last long up here. Leo lasted the longest before he disappeared and that was 11 years. And as you know I am mostly a dog person. But I love cats to.
Becky! I have yhe kitty blanket you made me upstairs on my futon. It’s kid of my kitty themed place. Shortie sleeps there often, so I wash the blanket often!! 😂. I love it (and you!!)
Being a fellow cat lover , I loved this cat blog !
Linda! I bet you have lots of tales to tell about your sweet cats! 💕
Dana…. Your cats are beautiful
Loved your pics and CAT STORIES!!!!🐈🐈⬛
Another FUN blog my friend 😃
Thank you, Kit, my Alaska buddy! Say…are going to make it to the reunion?
I surely enjoy your ramblings and gift for story telling. We also have 2 barn cat sisters that I actually got from a farm. Ive always loved Calicos and there were several in this litter so I got 2 even tho my hub is allergic. They got to stay in the utility room until old enough to be outside again. They do seem to prefer the dogs to us. Im not sure what thats all about. But if we go hiking off the property onto our neighbors tree farm their right along with us. Their names are Cally and Sally and we cant remember which is which either. Id have to check the vet records. We love our animals!
Cally and Sally! I love it!!! What cute names!! Would love to see a pic sometime!!! Isn’t it fascinating that they join you for hikes! Ah cats!!! 💕
Not a true cat person (we’re DEVOTED poodle folks! 🙂 ) but do have a funny story from years back. Ben was “gifted” a cat from his kindergarten teacher (Diane C — you surely remember her!) so White Socks joined our tribe as an outside mouser. He was great at his job. When we moved from Good Pasture to the Mck Hwy property, he came with us and adapted well. A couple years after, Tom came to our door with the news that he found White Socks deceased along the hwy when he went to get his mail. So we picked him up, prepared him for burial in a nice blanket, and had a small service with the kids in the back yard. Literally a day later, White Socks showed up on our back porch, looking for food, and probably left us a “gift” for being gone for a few days!!!! We all laughed so hard – we never did find out who’s cat we loving gave a send-off to!
Love your blog!
Cathy! Soooo funny! Sweet that you did a good deed for a
deceased kitty!