People who love cats will readily tell everyone who will listen that cats are the best pets ever.
As an animal lover myself, I value all creatures for their unique characteristics.
My own journey started with a parakeet that flew into our living room window one Christmas season.
Two others followed when that one flew off my shoulder during a walk outside (scared by a train that came by).
Guess who later retaliated with tadpoles and fuzzy caterpillars when mom wouldn't let me have a cat.
Then there were turtles (hey-it was for my science project!), crickets, more caterpillars...
until finally the Holy Grail of animal ownership arrived: my very own kitten.
Wow, that was a special day for me.
My best friend Mary Ellen's cat had kittens and we plotted to get me one.
Both of my parents were dead-set against having a cat in the house.
They both grew up on farms and considered cats to be outdoor animals only.
I begged, pleaded, cried and threatened.
The parents grew weary of battling me over the issue and finally gave in.
That kitten was neurotic, thanks to me.
I carried him everywhere and treated him like my child.
Although dad made the cat sleep outside every night, mom let him in to awaken me with a good bit of purring and ear nuzzling (from the cat, not my mother).
For some reason, he decided that jumping onto a person's head when they came around the corner of the kitchen was great sport.
Then the pounce-ee got to wear the cat like a warm, buzzing hat for as long as was desired.
After that cat was lost in a bad winter storm that drilled straw into tree trunks, an endless succession of cats came into my life.
Each cat had its own unique personality and quirky behaviors; just like people.
Every one of them was loving, polite and kind-and very snuggly.
Some of my cats were wise beyond what we humans normally expect, and one was definitely an alien.
Alien, as in "ET call home".
The two I currently am owned by are as different as night and day, although they look like almost identical twins (Siamese, of course, whether you please or not).
When they first came to live with me I called them The Evil Twins and sang that Disney Siamese song to them.
Since that time some ten years hence, their quirks have become quite evident.
The Princess expects to be adored and catered to; her motto is "me, me, ME!" The Temple Warrior is quite a different story: he is a helper, pure and simple.
Whatever one is doing, no matter how hard, he will do his best to help.
He will also offer some apparently very pithy comments on the situation.
I say apparently because I am not yet fluent enough in Cat Language to really get the full picture.
Rather than laze away the day, if anyone is working on something, he will go help.
When the lawn sprinkler system broke one hot summer, my aged mother decided to save the trees and spent all morning - and most of the afternoon-dragging a hundred-foot hose around the property.
The Temple Warrior followed mom from sun-up to exhaustion, watching her every move and trying to convince her to get in out of the sun.
Mom doesn't speak any Cat, so she was blissfully unaware of the danger she was in.
Thankfully, my attention was brought to the matter by the croaked yowls of my little cat-buddy, who had grown hoarse from his unheeded efforts.
Mom insisted she was fine and just wanted to get the job done.
Pointing to my cat, with his tongue hanging out in pant-mode, I argued that she was going to kill my cat with all that work.
That was what finally got through to mom-the picture of my exhausted, dehydrated cat.
Mom didn't have enough sense to stay hydrated and come in out of the desert noon-day sun, but the cat did.
That little cat is an amazing animal indeed.
He makes sure I am aware of how grateful he is for everything he has.
He is also an astute judge of character, while The Princess thinks anyone who adores her must certainly be good.
He is also very brave, which The Princess is aware of...
she runs to his side whenever she is scared.
It is said that we all decide what role to play in life long before we are born here; it seems that animals do too.
I am grateful to be blessed with such a helper, who lives to serve and appreciates everything I do for him.
Besides, who else is willing to go see what is 'going bump in the night' with me? ©2010 Dr.
Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved
As an animal lover myself, I value all creatures for their unique characteristics.
My own journey started with a parakeet that flew into our living room window one Christmas season.
Two others followed when that one flew off my shoulder during a walk outside (scared by a train that came by).
Guess who later retaliated with tadpoles and fuzzy caterpillars when mom wouldn't let me have a cat.
Then there were turtles (hey-it was for my science project!), crickets, more caterpillars...
until finally the Holy Grail of animal ownership arrived: my very own kitten.
Wow, that was a special day for me.
My best friend Mary Ellen's cat had kittens and we plotted to get me one.
Both of my parents were dead-set against having a cat in the house.
They both grew up on farms and considered cats to be outdoor animals only.
I begged, pleaded, cried and threatened.
The parents grew weary of battling me over the issue and finally gave in.
That kitten was neurotic, thanks to me.
I carried him everywhere and treated him like my child.
Although dad made the cat sleep outside every night, mom let him in to awaken me with a good bit of purring and ear nuzzling (from the cat, not my mother).
For some reason, he decided that jumping onto a person's head when they came around the corner of the kitchen was great sport.
Then the pounce-ee got to wear the cat like a warm, buzzing hat for as long as was desired.
After that cat was lost in a bad winter storm that drilled straw into tree trunks, an endless succession of cats came into my life.
Each cat had its own unique personality and quirky behaviors; just like people.
Every one of them was loving, polite and kind-and very snuggly.
Some of my cats were wise beyond what we humans normally expect, and one was definitely an alien.
Alien, as in "ET call home".
The two I currently am owned by are as different as night and day, although they look like almost identical twins (Siamese, of course, whether you please or not).
When they first came to live with me I called them The Evil Twins and sang that Disney Siamese song to them.
Since that time some ten years hence, their quirks have become quite evident.
The Princess expects to be adored and catered to; her motto is "me, me, ME!" The Temple Warrior is quite a different story: he is a helper, pure and simple.
Whatever one is doing, no matter how hard, he will do his best to help.
He will also offer some apparently very pithy comments on the situation.
I say apparently because I am not yet fluent enough in Cat Language to really get the full picture.
Rather than laze away the day, if anyone is working on something, he will go help.
When the lawn sprinkler system broke one hot summer, my aged mother decided to save the trees and spent all morning - and most of the afternoon-dragging a hundred-foot hose around the property.
The Temple Warrior followed mom from sun-up to exhaustion, watching her every move and trying to convince her to get in out of the sun.
Mom doesn't speak any Cat, so she was blissfully unaware of the danger she was in.
Thankfully, my attention was brought to the matter by the croaked yowls of my little cat-buddy, who had grown hoarse from his unheeded efforts.
Mom insisted she was fine and just wanted to get the job done.
Pointing to my cat, with his tongue hanging out in pant-mode, I argued that she was going to kill my cat with all that work.
That was what finally got through to mom-the picture of my exhausted, dehydrated cat.
Mom didn't have enough sense to stay hydrated and come in out of the desert noon-day sun, but the cat did.
That little cat is an amazing animal indeed.
He makes sure I am aware of how grateful he is for everything he has.
He is also an astute judge of character, while The Princess thinks anyone who adores her must certainly be good.
He is also very brave, which The Princess is aware of...
she runs to his side whenever she is scared.
It is said that we all decide what role to play in life long before we are born here; it seems that animals do too.
I am grateful to be blessed with such a helper, who lives to serve and appreciates everything I do for him.
Besides, who else is willing to go see what is 'going bump in the night' with me? ©2010 Dr.
Valerie Olmsted All Rights Reserved