We have a cat. I never would have thought we were cat people but it turns out we are. Everyone loves the cat - even Steve.
Our cat is somewhat weird and finicky. She will only eat one brand of cat food (Whiskas) and only likes chicken flavors.
She won’t drink water out of a bowl. She prefers you to run the faucet in the bathroom so she can drink from the stream. In a pinch, she’ll try to drink out of the sprinkler (didn’t really like that) or the neighbor’s fountain. She can do tricks too. Tricks like playing fetch or opening a zippered bag - but only if the lure is ponytail holders. Ponytail holders drive her nuts! She will do just about anything to get ahold of one.
When we got Tina (short for Argentina), she was supposed to be an inside kitty. We had her declawed after we couldn’t get her to use the scratching post or keep on her Soft Paws. Those were supposed to be a humane alternative to declawing but she hated them and chewed them off - even when I bought her the really pretty colored ones to appeal to her feminine side.
After a few months, sitting in the window looking outside didn’t really appeal to Tina anymore. She wanted new ground to roam. We started letting her go into the garage to play. She would run around investigating, poking her nose into things she probably shouldn’t have and that satisfied her for a while. Last winter, while playing in the garage, she discovered hunting. Oh. My. Goodness. That cat was in heaven! She caught every little mouse that tried to make our garage its winter home.
Once spring arrived (and there were no more mice to be found), Tina couldn’t be placated with the garage anymore. She would sit by the door and cry to go outside. We tried taking her outside for “walks” on a leash - hated it. Of course, that might have been because Violet isn’t real gentle with tugging on the leash. Eventually we gave up and let her run wild outside. Now she’s an inside-outside cat. She comes in and out of the house all day long. I catch myself telling her “if you come in, you’re staying in for a while” as though she were one of the children.
When she’s inside, Tina puts up with a lot of harassment. After playing outside, catching birds or baby bunnies, teasing Remy (our neighbor John’s dog) or fighting with Snickers (Brian & Brenda’s cat), Tina really just wants to lay around and rest. But she can’t do that because someone (especially Violet) is going to pick her up to hug & squeeze or start teasing her with ponytail holders. She can never just lay on the couch or in front of the windows and soak up the sun when the kids are home.
I know how that goes.
But our kitty is pretty smart. She knows that our bedroom is a safe harbor (since the kids have to ask before coming in) especially if she’s in her hiding place.
Sometimes I wish I could hide under the table too. Lucky Tina.
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