For this blog, I'm going to take a moment away from all the things I usually am - a nerdfighter, a Harry Potter fan, a (very) soon to be college student, an addict to technology - and I'm going to be something else entirely: A crazy cat lady. That's right: I am not in any way ashamed to admit that I absolutely LOVE cats. I always have. I still have my teddy bear - which is actually a cat - Milo to prove it to you. Dogs have always been "meh-yeah, cute, I guess" but cats can make my heart melt in a second. If you're a dog person or you hate hearing people go "aww" and gush about their pets, run for your life! (This blog post is definitely not for you).I was lucky enough to get my own cat when I was 7 years old. My family had a rather traumatic experience trying to buy one at the Humane Society (the one we chose and put on hold was "accidentally" adopted by someone else) and we ended up getting a just eight week old little tabby from the pet shop that used to be in the nearby shopping center. If you know me at all, you've probably heard me talk about Molly ... I love this animal so much, and she's such an intricate part of my family and my life that I practically think about her as my quirky little sister (with a bit of a "furry little problem," if you will). If you've been to my house, you're probably thinking "Huh? The Devil Cat?" Let's just say Molly has a personality to be reckoned with. Around my family, she's as sweet as can be. (Well, she keeps her own counsel about when she likes to be held and all that, but she's talkative and cuddly and a great pet.
Around others, however, she tends to get a bit, well, on-edge. She's not a big fan of strangers. I don't know if this is because the pet store we got her from was traumatic - too many people, bad upbringing - if she was taken away from her mother to young... I don't know why, exactly, but she basically can't stand anyone but me and my parents. But, all that aside, she's hilarious. She's got her own language and way of talking to us - she knows how to say "hello" in her own funny little way, she understands "treat" and recognizes her own name. She's got rituals that only pertain to one specific person: with my dad, for example, she'll always hit him up for a massage on the way up the stairs. She'll curl up ON my mom more than she will with the rest of us. And, she has a certain playful energy whenever she's around me - as if she knows she's on equal footing. But I realize I'm really starting to sound like an overly-obsessive cat owner, here, so let me just wrap this up and get to the main point of this blog. For all that Molly's the most fantastically amazing friend and pet ever, she's certainly not the kind of cat to be held, to come cuddle with you when you're reading or watching TV... and these are just things I've accepted about her. I love her despite these things and I can say now that I'm going to miss her like crazy when I'm no longer living at home. Molly is my tabby-and-white, green-eyed, pink-nosed (marked by a bee sting from when she was little), fluffy, sweet little sister.
The whole reason I'm blogging about this now - out of any time - is because I've been hit with an onslaught of cat-sitting this week. First came a set of neighbors who I babysat for a few weeks ago, who happened to have new young-ish cats, and who happened to see how absolutely in love I was with the cats by the time my evening there was up. They went out of town this past weekend as our school district is having a five day weekend and they asked me to watch their kitties while they were gone.
So, all weekend, twice a day, I've been trekking over there to play, feed, and amuse Oreo and DoubleStuff (I believe it's Oreo on the right, and DoubleStuff on the left). In so many ways, these cats are the POLAR opposite to Molly. They are both extremely affectionate, ready to be held (ESPECIALLY Oreo), and unafraid of strangers. Oreo will literally melt into your arms purring and will just stay there - he doesn't really seem to know the concept of resistance, so you can't even really tell if he doesn't want to be picked up... he just folds himself away in your arms and seems content. DoubleStuff has a bit of his own mind, but will still curl up on you and consent to being held for a few minutes. Both are extremely playful - they have this little play structure that's adorable, and they love going inside it and then jumping out at you (or each other). They have that kitten energy that's so much fun - they'll try to play with your shoes, your camera cord, your hair... anything, really. The other day I was sitting with them both on the couch and, man, it was STEREO SOUND purring. They're just as cute as can be.
AND THEN today, I started cat-sitting for another set of neighbors... a couple who goes out of town a lot and whose cat I have been watching on and off for over a year now. Since I've known them, the cats in this family have changed - it started out Reggie and Riley, then Riley and Bennie, and now it's just Bennie... But Bennie's really cute. He was a one-year old when they got him and, though he's grown up (and out - he's getting a bit pudgy), he's still playful and loving.
He loves playing with these little foam balls - he'll chase them up the stairs and down again like crazy. AND he's the only cat I've ever met who plays fetch. As in throw the ball, bring it back, fetch. When I first figured this out, it totally cracked me up.
So, there you have it, cats have really been on my mind lately - and all over my clothes. Every time I go visit ANY of the cats now, they all have to sniff me endlessly to try to figure out what (or who) they're smelling. I suppose it's not a bad way to make money (in fact, I'm just kind of excited that people will pay me for something I find so much fun). Anyway, there you have it, the four crazy kitties currently in my life.
Cheers. <3
P.S. I found out a few things when trying to take photos of all these cats this afternoon. Firstly, cats move a lot. Seriously. It must be some sort of law of the universe that as soon as your camera decides to focus, the cat - who was just holding perfectly still - decides to move and you get pictures that look like the Tasmanian Devil. I threw out about 100 of these kinds of pictures.
And secondly, cats often find the whirring of the camera lens AND the cord that dangles from the end of the camera fascinating and will abandon any attempts of being cute for the photo in favor of batting and sniffing said fun objects. I'm working on buying a new camera and - hopefully - with one that focuses quickly, takes photos well, and has some good automatic settings, this will be easier in the future, but let me just tell you that these three photos were basically the only good ones to come out of a batch of 130. *Whew*
Around others, however, she tends to get a bit, well, on-edge. She's not a big fan of strangers. I don't know if this is because the pet store we got her from was traumatic - too many people, bad upbringing - if she was taken away from her mother to young... I don't know why, exactly, but she basically can't stand anyone but me and my parents. But, all that aside, she's hilarious. She's got her own language and way of talking to us - she knows how to say "hello" in her own funny little way, she understands "treat" and recognizes her own name. She's got rituals that only pertain to one specific person: with my dad, for example, she'll always hit him up for a massage on the way up the stairs. She'll curl up ON my mom more than she will with the rest of us. And, she has a certain playful energy whenever she's around me - as if she knows she's on equal footing. But I realize I'm really starting to sound like an overly-obsessive cat owner, here, so let me just wrap this up and get to the main point of this blog. For all that Molly's the most fantastically amazing friend and pet ever, she's certainly not the kind of cat to be held, to come cuddle with you when you're reading or watching TV... and these are just things I've accepted about her. I love her despite these things and I can say now that I'm going to miss her like crazy when I'm no longer living at home. Molly is my tabby-and-white, green-eyed, pink-nosed (marked by a bee sting from when she was little), fluffy, sweet little sister.The whole reason I'm blogging about this now - out of any time - is because I've been hit with an onslaught of cat-sitting this week. First came a set of neighbors who I babysat for a few weeks ago, who happened to have new young-ish cats, and who happened to see how absolutely in love I was with the cats by the time my evening there was up. They went out of town this past weekend as our school district is having a five day weekend and they asked me to watch their kitties while they were gone.
So, all weekend, twice a day, I've been trekking over there to play, feed, and amuse Oreo and DoubleStuff (I believe it's Oreo on the right, and DoubleStuff on the left). In so many ways, these cats are the POLAR opposite to Molly. They are both extremely affectionate, ready to be held (ESPECIALLY Oreo), and unafraid of strangers. Oreo will literally melt into your arms purring and will just stay there - he doesn't really seem to know the concept of resistance, so you can't even really tell if he doesn't want to be picked up... he just folds himself away in your arms and seems content. DoubleStuff has a bit of his own mind, but will still curl up on you and consent to being held for a few minutes. Both are extremely playful - they have this little play structure that's adorable, and they love going inside it and then jumping out at you (or each other). They have that kitten energy that's so much fun - they'll try to play with your shoes, your camera cord, your hair... anything, really. The other day I was sitting with them both on the couch and, man, it was STEREO SOUND purring. They're just as cute as can be.AND THEN today, I started cat-sitting for another set of neighbors... a couple who goes out of town a lot and whose cat I have been watching on and off for over a year now. Since I've known them, the cats in this family have changed - it started out Reggie and Riley, then Riley and Bennie, and now it's just Bennie... But Bennie's really cute. He was a one-year old when they got him and, though he's grown up (and out - he's getting a bit pudgy), he's still playful and loving.
He loves playing with these little foam balls - he'll chase them up the stairs and down again like crazy. AND he's the only cat I've ever met who plays fetch. As in throw the ball, bring it back, fetch. When I first figured this out, it totally cracked me up.So, there you have it, cats have really been on my mind lately - and all over my clothes. Every time I go visit ANY of the cats now, they all have to sniff me endlessly to try to figure out what (or who) they're smelling. I suppose it's not a bad way to make money (in fact, I'm just kind of excited that people will pay me for something I find so much fun). Anyway, there you have it, the four crazy kitties currently in my life.
Cheers. <3
P.S. I found out a few things when trying to take photos of all these cats this afternoon. Firstly, cats move a lot. Seriously. It must be some sort of law of the universe that as soon as your camera decides to focus, the cat - who was just holding perfectly still - decides to move and you get pictures that look like the Tasmanian Devil. I threw out about 100 of these kinds of pictures.
And secondly, cats often find the whirring of the camera lens AND the cord that dangles from the end of the camera fascinating and will abandon any attempts of being cute for the photo in favor of batting and sniffing said fun objects. I'm working on buying a new camera and - hopefully - with one that focuses quickly, takes photos well, and has some good automatic settings, this will be easier in the future, but let me just tell you that these three photos were basically the only good ones to come out of a batch of 130. *Whew*
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