People Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout My Best Friend(s)

“We move like cagey tigers
We couldn't get closer than this
The way we walk
The way we talk
The way we stalk
The way we kiss
We slip through the streets
While everyone sleeps
Getting bigger and sleeker
And wider and brighter
We bite and scratch and scream all night

Let's go and
Throw all the songs we know
Into the sea
You and me
All these years and no one heard
I'll show you in spring
It's a treacherous thing
We missed you hissed the lovecats”

Robert Smith—The Cure, “Lovecats” 1980.

We have two cats—because one just was not enough. Our first cat, a black cat with a white crest on her chest, is part Siamese. When I tell people that, they go into some sort of convulsions based on the Lady and The Tramp film, which has more than a fair share of anti-Asian prejudice floating around in it. She is a great animal who is very territorial and very spirited. She tends to enjoy my wife’s company much more than my company, but I play sloppy seconds on the summer days when I am home. She likes to sit on my lap when I play CD’s in front of the stereo with the headphones on; she only trusts me when it comes to brushing and giving medicines; and she, generally speaking, likes to hang out whenever I am in the house. She is intelligent and very obedient and loyal. She is more dog-like than any other cat I have ever seen. She chirps to announce herself when she approaches, and she is not one to shy away from cleaning my face for me.

Our other cat is a three-legged tabby found abandoned in an apartment. She has tiger-stripes and is a gray and brown mix (brundle) cat. She is afraid of most things and has issues with most people—in fact most neighbors or guests have never seen her. When she needs her ears scratched, she leans close to me and mews and twiddles her stump. Apparently I am the only human that can scratch her ears to her satisfaction. She is more my cat and she sleeps on my feet. She conveys many moods, but I knew I was “home” after surgery in October when she came out of hiding, even with strangers in the room to see me. It was obvious she missed me and she has a power over me. I cannot be angry at much when this little cat sits near me and nudges me.

I have come to some conclusions about people and their pets, and often times as I teach, I have thought of those conclusions. I have met people who care less about their own kids than I do my cats. I have met people (probably like me) who view their pets as their “kids” of sort. I have seen people not prepare decent meals for their kids, but make sure to feed their pets. And I have seen people neglect their pets and behave cruelly to them, as they do their kids. Excuse the parallels to parenting, but they truly exist.

A few years ago, some carjacker in LA or somewhere, pulled a dog out of a car and threw it in the traffic. Then he shot people. The general public wanted to kill the guy because he harmed a dog.

And you know, I was thinking the same.

I went to a garage sale yesterday and this guy had a little dog. I could tell he loved the animal and the dog loved this elderly gentleman. I asked him if I could pet the dog and he said it was fine. The dog growled at me as I approached him and his master, so I backed off. He rubbed the dog’s head and said that the dog would not bite, but was frightened of strangers. He also told me that his wife had passed, his kids moved out and moved on with their own lives, and this little dog and he had each other in the world.

I told him that was why the dog growled—it did not want me or anyone else to ruin his world. I did not approach the animal again—giving it the respect it deserved. We have a little sign my wife bought and the inscription reads as follows:

“I Love my pets—this is their home
From which I hope they’ll never roam.
They’re faithful friends—I love them best
This is THEIR home—you are a guest.
If pets, to you, are just a peeve
Then, by all means, feel free to leave.”

Shakespeare it is not, but the idea is very clear.

I guess we must remember that our pets are sometimes chosen by us, but their ability to stay with us and grow older with us, is because of how we treat them…just like that dog with the elderly man, that three—legged cat of mine, and that ornery black cat of my wife’s. If you ever want to adopt a pet, please visit a local animal shelter and take a good look at the selections.

Some people want a purebred dog like a shepherd or a collie or a terrier or a beagle; but I say, go visit a shelter and grab a “who done it” and take the entire breed’s home in the same animal.

As far as cats, do not neglect the older cats for a kitten. Older cats adapt much more easily to a new household and are very loyal to their new owners.

Here’s a link to our local shelter: http://www.hscipets.org/sitemenu.htm

You can see my tabby’s story from that site on this link: http://www.hscipets.org/successstories005.htm

We even had Doug Wilson of Trading Spaces fame, set up a fund raiser for us and he is pictured signing an autograph with my wife on this link: http://www.hscipets.org/event023.htm

And hey, you can visit my personal favorite fund raiser here on this link for THE TWELVE BEERS OF CHRISTMAS—Ho Ho Ho: http://www.hscipets.org/event054.htm

Enjoy….