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Hello there. My name is Cat, plain and simple, though I'm certainly neither of those things! I'm not a stray cat anymore, but mom thought the title of this page was funny... it's how she always refers to my confident, slinky little walk (see above, left)!
My mom never intended to have a cat. She never even thought that she LIKED cats. But then, one evening in September 2000, I came strutting into her life and changed all that!
Mom's friend Herb was working as a contractor at an apartment building. While he was working in a lady's apartment, she mentioned that she had found the CUTEST stray cat (wonder who that might be?). Her husband wouldn't let her bring me inside, so she was keeping me in her car and bringing me food. Herb said he couldn't leave me in the car, and before I knew it, I was meeting the person who I knew I would soon call "mom"... I just had to win her over, and I knew that wasn't going to take long!
Mom found somebody who she said had a great home for me. This nice lady had just lost two cats to feline leukemia and was so excited about adopting me! She had one other cat, so of course mom wanted to get me all checked out and make sure I had a clean bill of health before I moved in. So, she made a vet appointment for me, for just a few days later. In the meantime, I started to work my charms on them... Vito was particularly easy to win over. He doted on me and followed me around constantly, like he had adopted me as his very own!
When the day of my vet appointment came, mom took me, and they asked for my name. Mom said, "she's a stray kitten, she doesn't have a name." They said they had to have some kind of name on my chart. So mom said to call me "Cat." The vet estimated my date of birth at June 1, 2000, so I was still just a baby of a few months old!
After my vet visit, mom had to keep me for just a few more days, until the results of my blood tests came back. But I decided that I had already found my forever home, so I just settled right in like I belonged there all the while. Of course, just like I knew she would, mom decided that I seemed so happy, and Vito really loved me, and it probably wasn't a good idea to displace me again. When she took me back to the vet for my second set of vaccinations, she told the vet that she had decided to keep me. Our vet knows mom pretty well... her reaction was, "I'm shocked!" accompanied by a big grin.
Nowadays, I'm having great fun teaching mom all about the wonderful world of CATS. She thought that having Italian Greyhounds was a lot like having cats, but I have a few tricks up my paws that she hasn't seen before! For example, Vito and Bo can't jump onto the kitchen counter like I can... so when mom's not looking, I like to sneak up there and help out my brothers by tossing down whatever treats might be there!
Mom also isn't used to having a pet who can come up with such clever hiding places as Yours Truly. Twice now, she has been certain that I had slipped out the door and was missing... she looked everywhere she could imagine, and it was several hours before I decided to show myself. Where's my hiding place, you ask? I'll never tell!
And then there's my fur. Vito and Bo don't shed all that much, and when they do, it's nothing like cat fur! Mom says that my fur gets EVERYWHERE, though I think she's exaggerating just a bit! So about once a week, I am subjected to the terrible indignity of the grooming glove. You can see how I feel about this by the look on my face!
Mom says she can't believe how sweet and affectionate I am. She always thought that cats were a little standoffish, but I am showing her otherwise! Sure, sometimes I like to have some time to myself. But I also spend a lot of time walking up and rubbing against mom's legs, or stretching out my paws against her, to request some affection. My favorite thing is to be tickled under my chin, and I purr softly and make what mom calls "the pudge face" in response.
I am also very willing to work to earn my keep! I am the resident plumber; I love to check out the bathroom pipes, and I'm right there to check out the action whenever a toilet is flushed! I'm also a sort-of exterminator... I like to point out bugs to my mom so that she can get rid of them for us. And I am a first-rate housekeeper. Whenever the boys go potty on their newspapers in the laundry room, I spend lots of time shuffling the papers around just so to cover them up. What's wrong with those dogs, not covering up their business?! Just more evidence of how very superior we cats are!
Unfortunately, I can't sleep with my mom and brothers because I am EVIL. (At least, that's what my mom always says, though I assure you I am just misunderstood!) They let me try to sleep with them a couple of times, but around 4 a.m. I really need to wake up and have some fun, such as biting mom's toes through the covers or pouncing on the boys. They don't seem very appreciative of my adorable, playful personality, and I get kicked out every time!
Mom can't believe how well I get along with my canine brothers. Even Bo has slowly been won over! Yes, I think I'll keep them.
Oh, by the way, in case you're wondering about that nice lady who was going to adopt me... while my mom was in the process of deciding to keep me, our other mom, Elaine, told us about somebody she worked with who was trying to place her older cat. We told the nice lady, and she got in touch with the lady from Elaine's work... and within a few days, there were happy endings (and beginnings) all around!
Click on Vito to go home
