was on the rest of us, perhaps more
so. She waited patiently at the front
door for him to return home, and of
course, he never did. She couldn’t
know why. I was grateful that our
daughter had eventually bonded so
well with the dog, which now still had
a trusty human companion. We lost
Ripley several months later, and now,
predictably, I found myself looking
straight into those same blue eyes,
albeit in a much taller body, pleading
for a new puppy.
My rescue came from an
unexpected source. This time Mommy
was willing to be the bad guy. In truth,
it was not a good time for us to have
a dog, especially a new puppy. Our
daughter spends long days at school
and her job, and my wife and I work
the long hours of the self-employed.
Since dogs are very social animals,
we believe that it would not be fair to
have a dog that would not get much
attention. The cats, on the other
hand, are relatively independent, and
excel at amusing one another.
So that was it. The die was cast.
We would be a three-cat family.
Except that Daddy had issues. I work
all day in my office, often times alone.
Even worse than being alone all day is
being alone all day and finding mouse
droppings on your countertops. As my
frustration peaked, I happened to
learn of a particularly assertive kitten
that needed a new home. I was more
than a little hesitant to introduce her
into the mix at home, and besides, I
had this mouse problem at the office.
Problem solved. I get more attention
than I truly need, and at the same
time, my office is rodent-free.
Now I am rarely in a feline-free
environment. I really enjoy that. I
have become an ardent advocate of
animal rescue, in part because I see
that there is such a need, and partly
because I have come to know the
value of “rescue” animals: In most
cases, you “rescue” each other.
Stories such as this rarely have
an end. A few months ago, a juvenile
male cat showed up on our front
porch. He is extremely affectionate,
and seems to have been ‘dumped’.
He has definitely upset the delicate
harmony of our three-cat home. We
named him “Monty”.
Having four cats at home means
you never lack for a sleeping partner,
although bed space is another issue
entirely. Few animals so small in
size are quite as talented at gaining
monopoly control of real estate on a
king-sized mattress… and it doesn’t
matter how big your feet are -- under
the covers, they always look exactly
like mice.
It also means that you become
acutely aware of the need to buy cat
food. Having four howling reminders
makes it a hard thing to forget.
One thing that I really enjoy about
having so many cats is that their
personalities are as different and
varied as are those of humans. Living
with a single cat for 17 years may lead
one to assume that cats are all very
much alike. Living with four at home
and one in the office draws a stark
contrast to that assumption. Another
similarity to humans is their ability to
teach and learn from one another.
For example, Kitty taught them
all how effective it is to bang on
windows and doors when you want
to come in… and go out… and come
in… etc. Olivia is the great hunter,
and she passed her skills on to the
new arrivals when we first got them.
Revan excels at begging for food, and
the others happily follow his lead.
Monty is the cuddler of the group, but
has not yet found a way to impart this
characteristic on to his fellow felines.
He does a pretty good job of stirring
things up when it gets unbearably
quiet.
Jo-Ann is right. It’s good to be a cat
in our house, but with her luck, she’d
come back as a mouse.
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