My Mom used to take great delight recounting the story of how, when I was but a wee one, I used to begin stories with, "When I was a pussycat..."
No doubt I believed it with all my young heart. Truthfully, I'm not even sure young soul-me didn't know something grown-up me was taught isn't possible. If it is possible, one of my past lives was surely spent as a scruffy street cat, scrapping away at life wearing my battle scars, a squinty eye, one torn ear and a bad cattitude.
It's safe to say from my earliest memories that being a batshit crazy Cat Person was my destiny. Hard core. There's just so many things about them that earns my respect. Obviously, I'm not alone; the internet was basically invented for them, right? That's not to say dogs and other animals haven't held a special place in my life, heart and soul. There are a particular few who blessed my life greatly. So many of my furbabies have crossed the rainbow bridge and I'm trying to collect their photos to share here along with my memories.
For now, onward with the Roll Call of Present Furbabies...
Originally I was only supposed to foster this fellow while a new acquaintance sorted out a difficult living situation. Newly moved into my own apartment, and coming off a long stretch of being without a pet, I was wary of getting too attached. We shared affection, cuddles and playtime but when I spoke of him, he was The Cat. After dropping him off with a half a bag of food, some litter, a ton of thanks yous and promises, she patted him on the head and we never heard from her again. As I said, I tried very hard not to fall in love with him. My heart was already in a battered state and another loss was not on the agenda. But I can be pretty stupid about trusting people to keep their word. After a month had passed, another friend finally convinced me that she wasn't coming back, he was mine, and I better give him a proper name. This is Fetch. Yeah, I made that happen. Tribute to Gretchen Weiners. Never give up on your dreams, girl! How cute is the heart on his nose? He looks so over everything but he's dialed in to it all.
Nobody can convince me angels with whiskers don't exist. His appearance doesn't convey the sweetest personality, but he's provided so much love and comfort to myself, my Mom, Kitten and Mancub over the years. The young lad was three when Fetch came into our lives. I'll never forget the pure delight in his voice the first time they met, as Fetch ran to him, he exclaimed: "He likes me!" Sally Field's Oscar speech had nothing on the kid. Whenever the tiny human came to visit, this kitty would wait for him to fall asleep, park himself by his head, and would not budge. They lived with me for a time and he bonded with both like a pro. Once they moved, I used to bring him back and forth as I bounced between their home and mine. He really didn't enjoy the car and we ultimately decided he would live with them. So, they have custody of my cat and I have weekly visitation twice a month. He's pretty happy with the arrangement; Kitten buys the expensive treats and makes sure he always has catnip mousies to toy with. He is known as Good Sir Fetchimus, Our Cat.
This young lady is Callie and she'd just scared the heck out of me when I walked into a dark room. She really likes to be up high where she can spy on observe everyone. Once I found her sleeping in the little useless cupboard over the fridge. It's become one of her favourite hangouts, as is this tall coffee holder. Apologies for the poor picture quality but this girl doesn't sit still long enough to get a good shot. She has eternal zoomies. Athletic, lean and lanky, her Parkour antics are truly amazing but there's never enough warning to capture the hilarity.
She's technically Mancub's, but I'm to blame for bringing a straggly little kitten into their world. They'd just returned from visiting the wasband and Mancub was missing the dog. Kitten had been thinking about adopting another cat for him once Fetch had traitorously abandoned their sleeping ritual in favour of her bed. He can't be blamed. The boy kept getting bigger and has lengthy conversations in his sleep. She's got a king size bed and barely moves once she closes her eyes. She still hasn't learned it's probably not wise to let me in on all the things she's thinking of doing though. Allow me to believe this.
There happened to be a crate of free kittens when I stopped in a store. I impulse cat. Perhaps I should be ashamed of the number of stories that begin with me walking through the door with a new cat, however I remain unrepentant. When I walked in with Callie, Mancub got so emotional that he cried. What an unforgettable moment for me. It's quite something to watch a ten year old boy try to tough out tears of joy. She's a little pain in the ass, but we adore her and I was forgiven my transgression. Fetch slid into big brother mode without incident and she bosses him around. Why we give pets nicknames in addition to their name is beyond me, but she's Calliekins.
Which brings us to Mia, a.k.a. Meems, Meemers, Meemerella, and My Best Friend. She's another angel with whiskers and has seen me through the aching loneliness of The Thing That Shook Us and nearly two years of grieving my previous best friend, my Mom. That they happened at the same time was especially difficult. It may sound as though my life is terribly empty when I say this cat literally saved my life, but it's not. For what is probably the first time in my life, I really like where I'm at. During lockdowns and ever-changing restrictions, though, having to isolate from the people who make my world matter, in pain and uncertain what the future held, it would have been easy to fall into a pit of despair. The experience is not unique, it's just mine, and there were days caring for and being comforted by Mia was all that kept me hanging on. Here we are in a rose-coloured glasses, heavily filtered, selfie. The Rona had gotten me and she plastered herself to my person like this for hours each miserable day.
She loves to travel in the car and would probably be very content if we lived in an RV traveling to and fro. A country girl at heart, she's another example of my affliction. Impulse catting. Wow, that sounds very weird. While spending a weekend at Mancub's paternal grandparent's home, I was delighted by three nearly identical kittens. They were all attention-seeking, deeply affectionate, and had the loudest purrs, but the one with a little white on the tip of her tail seemed special. Meems came home with me. She's still wildly affectionate, her purr can be distinctly heard over the phone as she vies for my undivided attention, and while I jokingly refer to her as my personal assistant, the truth is she's the queen.
Lest you think our relationship is all sunshine and butterflies, Mia is quick to let me know when I've displeased her. In the early spring, I threw the windows open and went on a cleaning spree. As it happens, one thing led to another, chaos ensued and it had gotten late by the time I sat down to have a coffee. That's when I noticed it had gotten very cold once the sun had set. She had been suspiciously quiet for some time. I glanced up and saw she was giving me the classic feline rebuke. Her majesty ignored me calling and cajoling her, for almost an hour. When I texted this pic to Kitten and Belle, their automatic replies were along the lines of, "Oh, you in deep shit nao." They know.
I could have made a point that she clearly had enough padding to keep her warm, but I know how to read a room. Of this I'm pretty sure: fat shaming any cat, let alone a female pissed off cat, will lead to nothing good.
So there you have an accounting of the present fluffs in my life. Previous posts have also mentioned my furgrandbabies. Yeah, I call them that. Yeah, I'm nuts. Who cares? The fact that all my kids have grown up to be animal lovers is a point of pride. High on the list of rules in my life to follow is to never trust a person animals dislike. They listen to their instincts. As should we. I love them all, sometimes more than people, but there are no plans for more. Keep in mind, I'm a little spontaneous and once had two dogs and nineteen cats. Yep, that's another post though.