What We Do To Our Cats!

I saw the funniest thing last night and it reminded me of one of the reasons why I have cats as pets.  Of course, I have cats because I love them, they are affectionate, interesting and fun to pet...
Also, I found after my eighteen year old cat died a couple of years ago, I just couldn't sleep well at night without that feeling of a cat in the room. Weird!  The room felt less comfortable, odd to say.

Anyway, back to what reminded me about why I have cats at all... And the answer is, comic relief!
Sometimes, they do things that are just downright hilarious... 
So, basically, you are sitting there, minding your own business, and the animal that always lands on it's feet, doesn't.

Or, the epitome of grace that walks among us, walks, and is definitively not graceful...
And when they go off the rails, they are so totally shocked and appalled by what is happening, that it only adds to how funny the situation is!

Have you ever seen a cat fall backwards off a coffee table?  Their expression is priceless!  That's what I witnessed yesterday, and boy, I didn't stop laughing for ten minutes!
The other thing that's pretty entertaining what we do to them... They are so stiff with dignity, I don't think pet owners can really resist it!
I have a yearly tradition of putting these antlers I bought at a pet store years ago on whatever cats don't move fast enough to avoid me... (Yes, I tend to do this every year!)
But nowadays, you don't even have to do this type of thing yourself! 
The Internet is full of YouTube videos of cats in embarrassing situations, and they are funny, some incredibly so.
I feel sorry for the cats, but on some level, I know they deserve it;-)

How to move on...

Nikki - 18 years old.

Last year, I wrote a blog post about my old cat, how she had a deformed voice box and she couldn't meow very well. The name of the post was 'My Cat is a Mime.'

Since I hate loud noises, I had come to the conclusion over time that this cat was pretty well perfect for me...

The problem with getting attached to any house pet is that they live a much shorter lifespan than we do, and we have to make the decision early on to deal with that loss when the time comes.

Much easier said than done, though. My old kitty died of old age in February of this year. I was pretty devastated, even though I thought I was ready, she was over 18 years old, so I knew the time was near.

When the time came, it was quick, which was good for her and a large shock for me. Her body literally just shut down over a 36 hour period. It's like it wore out and gave up. I had no time to adjust to what was happening, I just kept wanting to find a solution.

Virgil and Misty, March, 2011.

Not a realistic approach, but a heartfelt emotional approach. After she died, I kept looking for her, and I found I couldn't sleep because I was used to having her presence around...

After a couple of weeks of spotty sleep, and missing her terribly, I just knew I had to get another cat, and I felt very disloyal when I made that decision. I also had a certain reluctance to start the cycle over again, which is probably cowardly on my part, I felt like my heart was burnt and I didn't really want to love a new pet, just in case they died...
I think human beings love animals because they are very uncomplicated. Since our relationships with each other are layered with our interactions, we often don't feel free to express our fondness for each other.  It's like we don't want to cross a line for fear of offending our friends and family members.


Misty - March, 2011

It leaves most of us without an outlet for warmth and affection, that some of us choose to fill with a pet.
A pet is a simple relationship for most of us. We love them, we care for them and pet them, and they love us back in a pretty straightforward, uncomplicated way.
I went out and got two kittens. I figured they could play with each other and I'd have a good chance that one of them would be a lapcat... No luck on that front, but they like everyone and are very loveable. I really ended up loving them once I got used to the noise, playing and general fuzziness;-)

Misty is a medium hair dilute tortoiseshell, and she's fairly small and into everything. And my love for quiet just got compromised in a big way, she loves to sing!
She sings when she's happy, she sings when she's bored, and she sings when she wants someone to pet her or play with her...
So much for mime kitties...

Anyone know where I can find another one?