My Cat Love Goes Way Back

 

It all started when I was a little girl.  I lived (and still live) in an isolated part of a large, populous suburb of Cleveland.  Come summertime, when I was no longer in school, I didn't see much of my friends.  I couldn't walk anywhere since the street was so busy and my mother didn't drive.  My dad worked all hours--being a policeman.  Consequently, I got lonely.  I had my sister and our friend who lived next door, (who we are still friends with) but I still spent a lot of time alone.
   But we had cats.  Specifically 3 Siamese.  They were named Rima, Ping and Pong.  Rima was temperamental and taught us kids manners around cats--but never with her claws out.  She would swat us but never hurt us.  The two boys were always gentle.  I used to hang out with Pong; all the time.  I followed him around the house, and we took walks outside.
   A stray found our house.  He was friendly, but my dad didn't want another cat.  He hung out for a week--and then disappeared for a day.  When he came back, he was limping.  My dad melted, and we got another cat.  His name was Catnip.  I followed him around the house and took him for walks.
   I loved them all.  They were my best buddies. 
   All that time around the cats, just watching them and playing with them taught me so much about cats.  I am very good at reading their emotions and understanding them.  Because of it, I do well with temperamental cats--and I like the challenging cats.  My boyfriend has two cats.  Fall is a sweetheart, but Arbez is known as "The Queen of Mean."  She's not mean with me--I am the only one who can pet her besides my boyfriend.  She is always on my lap, purring.  I get along great with Princess, the barn cat.  She is the most horrible cat I have ever met.  She loves people but has no patience for us.  We never know when she will attack, so most people ignore her.  She loves me and comes when I call her--follows me everywhere--sits on my lap all the time--and hisses at me when I remove her.  I can tell when she is going to "the darkside" and avoid injury.
   I befriended a feral black tom cat that lived at our barn.  He was caked with dried mud, and he let me remove it all--and he was devoted to me from that day on.  I still cry about the day he died... I named him Blackster, and someday, I will have my own black cat and I will give him that name.
   I can sure go on about cats...

My House Guests are Coming Back!

Last fall, I watched 2 wonderful cats while their owner was away.  Prince and Pumpkin were delightful.  I have a big house, so I was able to keep them in their own bedroom.  When I was home, I opened up the hall and they had access to another room.  When I had the hall open, the dog would be outside or in her own room.  Thunder would be safely in the middle of the house--sometimes peeking in from a distance.  He didn't like them, but he got used to them being around.  Maggie never did.  Sigh...

Pumpkin was just a tiny kitten.  There was nothing tiny about Prince.  He was a demanding, and adorable, tyrant.  I am really looking forward to having them over, again.

Stormy in a Deep Blue Funk Because there is no Sunshine

Kinda silly that a cat named Stormy is so addicted to sun that he has withdrawal when there isn't any.

Happy Cat: The Movie

I downloaded "Happy Cat: The Movie" from the library's website, Hoopla.  With my library card, I have access to hundreds of free movies, TV shows and music.  It is pretty neat.  Anyway, I never expected that Thunder would be all that interested.  Unlike Ellen's cat, he has never showed any interest in TV.

 It is all visuals and sounds that the producers think that cats would like.  He saw ducks and mice and birds and fish.  He was entranced by all.

 It may have been the noises that most interested him.  They had cat noises and bird noises and even whale noises.  He liked the whales.

 He particularly liked this bird.

 Maggie liked the duck noises, but she didn't get as close to the computer.

 Thunder is always a careful cat.  He is gently touching the screen.

 Once the peacock noises started, he seemed to get nervous, so I shut it off.

 Instead, I put on a less stimulating show on National Geographic.  "Cats: Caressing the Tiger."  He watched the whole thing, but he watched it quietly.

 The black blob is Maggie joining in. They ended up watching it together.  Oh, I watched it with them.

"Trail Training for the Horse and Rider"

My book, "Trail Training for the Horse and Rider" is officially out of print! I got the last 2 cartons from the publisher, so you can still buy it new from me. If you are interested in buying my book, let me know. It is $19.95 plus shipping. We could work out those details when I find out how you would like me to ship it.