Betty is our home’s second oldest cat. I rescued her from work where she appeared, starving. She lived in a massive oak. To this day, she likes to be up high. This ledge leading into the kitchen is one of her favorite places to keep an eye on her kingdom.
Betty is ever vigilant, lest a strange cat should suddenly appear and assault her fortress. False alarm. Although Riley is a strange cat, he is no stranger. The big tom is our resident non-resident. When I mention that we have 6.5 cats, Riley is the 0.5 part of our cat herd.
We’ve all been struggling with the loss of Jodi’s mom back in January. So, it was nice to have a happy memory of her pop into my mind last night. Roberta had a way of collecting cats. I would come home to find a new cat, that I didn’t recognize, sitting in my kitchen after I came home from work. I would ask her why there was a strange cat in our house and she would look at me with all seriousness and state “He looked hungry, so I let him in and fed him”. Soon enough, the cat had a name and was added to our permanent collection of cats. We only wanted one cat, and Jodi got me Sabi for Christmas one year. Now our collection of cats includes; Sabi, Betty, Jacky, Cooper, Oona, Elle Belle, and Riley. So, what does all of this have to do with my memory?
Last night, Jim (You must remember my friend Jim, we shoot together all of the time.) and I went to the Celtic Festival in Dayton. Along the way, we decided to stop at a Dayton favorite, Thai 9 for dinner. Jim went in to get a table and I parked the car…three blocks away. On the walk back to the restaurant, I spied this stenciled cat on the side of a building. I instantly thought…”he looks hungry…” and started to laugh. Roberta may not be with us in many ways, but in so many ways, she still is.
Have a great day folks.
Cooper has this strange habit of staring into space with a mouthful of water for a few moments before swallowing. It’s so common and so unusual, that it has become his thing. After swallowing, he smacks his lips. Every mouthful seems to contain the tastiest water he has ever drunk. Life is good with simple pleasures like that. Good for you Cooper, enjoy your drink.
His royalness, Prince Jacky, rules over his domain in our living room. This is his throne. Nothing is allowed on top of this table except for himself and his “throne”. If you place anything else on his throne, he will get a bit of an attitude and knock it onto the floor. No wallets, keys, lamps or phones.
Petting is allowed and encouraged.
I always wonder about cats and their bathing habits. One can be walking along and suddenly, they fall to the ground and start licking away as though the planets had suddenly aligned into their perfect bathing position. Drop whatever you are doing, it’s time to wash up. Just as suddenly, they can stand up and resume their walk, satisfied that they got that one spot perfectly clean.
I have other wonders about cats. However, they can keep for another day. Do you have a cat? What kind of cat behavior do you wonder about?
tim mcmurdo 