HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Buon Giorno Principessa!
Then one day a very cute little princess of a cat sashayed past the backyard. Sebastian was hooked! He took off after her and they hung out together for several days, I of course knew nothing about this private party for two! The neighbors informed me that Sebastian had found a cute little girlfriend. He eventually brought her home, I remember the exact moment Coco joined our family. I was on the phone with my boyfriend and soon to be fiance Mike. I had been telling him all about her, and he said in true military style, "we CAN'T have 2 cats, we are going to be moving around the world!" (He is an Officer in the Navy). Well, that day on the phone here she was sitting in the window looking hungry, I said to Mike "i"m going to feed her!" He said "NOOOOOOOOOO!" I said "Too late!" Yes, yes, I fed her and after she ate and ate she curled up on my lap and that was it. I named her Coco Chanel, Coco for short.
Coco has been such a joy to have and she is a wonderful companion for Sebastian. They have their moments, but all in all they get along fine. She is about half his size, but she rules the house. If Sebastian is walking by, minding his own business, she will beat him up so he will chase her upstairs. They then proceed to “play” not “fight” under the bed; it’s very entertaining. She can be very playful as well. Her favorite toy is a little mouse that “grandma” bought for her. She throws it up in the air and bats it around the room. If she catches you watching her she immediately stops and pretends to clean herself. She is much too sophisticated to be seen playing with a mere mouse! When she tires of the mouse she often goes over to the basket of toys and digs around until she comes up with what she wants, smart little cat! One day I asked if my mother could take her to the vet for her shots. Mom said "sure", after all this is Coco we are talking about, not Sebastian! So off she went to my house to get her. Well she tried to shove her into the cat carrier; Coco was having none of that! She immediately got away from Mum and ran out the cat door. She ended up on the windowsill outside looking in at Mum. Mum then went outside to catch her well, what did Coco do? She ran back inside and jumped up on the windowsill this time looking at Mum outside in the garden! This went on for about a half an hour then Mum finally gave up. Poor Coco didn’t get her shots that day smart kitty!
At about the same time I adopted Coco, Mike and I decided to get married. He was living in Hawaii and I was living in Denver, it was time to stop the endless plane flights and get together! We got orders to Naples, Italy and we were both very excited to start our new life together. Now the way Sebastian welcomed Mike into the family is as follows. Mike was at my house and Sebastian was in one of his moods. He was acting like he was going to bite me and he was giving me the warning meow. Now I know how to interpret that meow, it means get the hell away from psycho kitty! So I got away from him and let him calm down. Now Mike says to me “you have to show that cat who is boss!” Well I know who the boss is, Sebastian is! The next morning Mike is in the bathroom, he had just finished taking a shower, Sebastian is sitting outside the door just waiting. Mike opens the door and Sebastian starts to do his warning meow, now, Mike is naked, OK he had a towel but that was it. Anyway, Sebastian is meowing and staring up at Mike wondering, “what is that?” So Mike says to me, and I quote, “Get him away from me!” And I say, “You have to show him whose boss!” Well right then Mike had one of those slow motion moments, Sebastian made a jump for the family jewels! Mike looked like a circus trainer trying to control a Black Panther. Every time Sebastian would leap Mike would whip the towel at him! Eventually Mike retreated to the safety of the bathroom. He knows who the boss is now except when Coco is around, then she’s the boss.
Those of you that are military will understand when I say "let the chaos begin" those of you who are not can only read and learn! We decided to get married in Denver so I took 6 months and planned a winter wedding. (Mike was at sea) Now October rolls around, the wedding is scheduled for December well, the US Navy will not move my stuff to Italy unless Mike and I are married BEFORE December 1! Heavy sigh....so Mike and I decide to marry on the beach in Hawaii at sunset on November 11 and then still have the big wedding in Denver that way our "official" wedding date will comply with the Navy rules. (those of you who are not military are shaking your heads right now) So we have a beautiful ceremony on the beach and have dinner at the Old Moana right on the beach everything is peachy. Then we get our marriage certificate in the mail and it has deficient stamped on it!! OK, so the guy that married us was not properly registered with the state of Hawaii (oops) so we called him up, got him registered we got ANOTHER license and singed off the correct paperwork in the hallway of the department of health, wedding number 2. THEN we flew home to Denver for wedding number 3 and hopefully the final wedding! Whew! Now we can move to Italy! So the next hurdle to jump over is how do I get my two, yes, two cats to Italy with us? Well, the Navy had all sorts of ideas like putting them in the cargo hold of the plane, and making them stay in a kennel until we find a house "RIGHT, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN", so I ask my parents if the cats can live with them until we get settled in Italy. They said yes of course, so we moved the whole family into Mum and Dad's bitchin bed and breakfast and gourmet chicken house. More Cat Tails to come....
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sebastard! OH, I mean SEBASTIAN!
Sebastian
Sebastian is a big black cat with an attitude! He came into my life because I wanted another cat since Ringo decided that my cooking wasn’t good enough. So off to the Animal Shelter I went. He was the last cat I saw. He had been abandoned on the highway and was extremely playful and maybe a little pissed off with his situation. I tapped on the glass of his cage and he immediately jumped up and started to play! He won my heart so I adopted him. ( I wish I could have taken all the cats home that day) Good thing I did, as he was to be put to sleep the next day! When we were checking him out of “kitty jail” he entertained all of us by playing with a ball of tape. The woman that worked there thought I should name him Pele after the great soccer player, but Sebastian really suits him.
Once I got him home all the adventures began. He is a friendly cat but sometimes he has a slight attitude problem, it comes down to this, he can't STAND to be forced to stay inside, he is a true adventurer. I’d had him about three weeks when he decided that he wanted to explore the neighborhood. Yep, you guessed it, he disappeared! For three long days I looked for him, silly cat! Then he just appeared back on my doorstep. I was so glad to see him and that he knew where he lived, but that was just the beginning. As Sebastian got older, he got more and more brave. He decided that it was great fun to jump into cars. I received calls on several occasions from frantic people that had accidentally taken Sebastian for a joy ride around the block. I guess he was trying to tell me that he wanted to travel....well, little did he know, he was going to get his wish!
As Sebastian settled into my home he started to establish his territory. He had a cat door so he was able to come and go as he pleased, BELIEVE ME he wouldn't have had it any other way! I can remember sitting in my back yard reading a book only to see Sebastian RUN by chasing the squirrel! This became the daily challenge, to see if he could catch it. He would wait and wait under the bushes and the POUNCE! Of course the squirrel was too quick and he would end up chasing it right up the tree! (where was Phantom when he needed her) Then the next challenge would be how to get down from the tree (didn't think about that one eh!) Thank god he never caught one, because it would have ended up in my house somewhere! He loves to bring me presents; after all I am his mommy. Speaking of bringing me presents...
As every cat owner knows, there comes a time in your life that your cat wants to show his unconditional love for you. Or maybe he thinks that new diet you are on is making you toooooooo skinny (right!) Whatever it may be, at some point in the cat/human relationship the cat feels the need to FEED YOU!! Sebastian would bring me birds, mice and butterflies. His favorite were birds. I guess he was amused by me trying to catch the poor bird as it was flying around the house pooping on everything! I can just hear him now "why the hell can't she catch that bird, it's NOT THAT HARD!" The worst was when I would have to pry the poor bird out of "the jaws of death" I did this by tickling Sebastian's feet! He would do his best to hold onto the bird but the need to STOP ME from tickling his feet always won and he would have to bite ME thus letting the poor bird go. He was especially good at gift giving when I had returned from a trip or something. It was like a little welcome home gift. I will always remember one gift in particular.
I had been in Hawaii and I had taken a long flight home. It was cold and snowy and I was dreaming of being on the beach in Hawaii when I heard Sebastian come through the cat door. The cat door was in the basement and Sebastian had to go up some stairs to get into the kitchen. Well I heard him come through the door and it sounded as if he fell down the stairs! Then I heard him in the dining room and it sounded as though he was playing with something. I got up in the dark and went to the dining room. I saw this black thing on the carpet, which I assumed was Sebastian until I turned on the light! It was a huge black frozen crow!!!!Sebastian had found it outside in the snow, pushed it through the cat door where it rolled down the stairs. He then dragged it up the stairs (it was about as big as him) and left it on the dining room carpet for mommy! It was lying there feet up in the air, completely frozen! To this day, I have no idea where he found it.
At some point Sebastian decided that he was lonely. He had a lot of cat friends that would come over, but they all had permanent homes. His best friend was a pure white cat with a striped tail. I would come home and they would be playing under the bed. I can almost hear the cat conversation now. “Hey, you want to come over?” “My mommy is going to be gone all day, imagine the fun we can have!” Anyway, Sebastian started to bring lots of cats home. One was a sweet little black and white cat that I named Duchess until I found out that he was a Duke. Unfortunately, Duchess was very sick and did not live very long. I made sure that his last days were filled with comfort and love.
And then came the day he brought home a Turkish Angora that looked like it had been on the road and out in the cold for a while. They really liked each other so I decided that I would adopt the Turkish Angora. I hadn't even figured out a name for the cat when my dad called and said that there was an ad for a white cat that had been missing for about 10 weeks! I called the number and made arrangements for her to come over and see if he was her cat. The minute she walked in the door she immediately recognized him, his name was Roman. She was very happy, Roman, on the other hand, ran down to the basement! She went down to get him there was a lot of hissing and commotion but she finally got a hold of him. So we said our goodbyes BUT just as she was trying to get in the car with him he did a twisting maneuver and escaped! At the same time Sebastian came running out from under the car and with Sebastian at Roman's side, they ran off down the street one black cat and one white into the darkness of the night. Poetic isn't it! I told her that she could come back tomorrow because there was no way that we would be able to catch them now. About an hour later the two of them came home and jumped up on the couch together. Roman liked his new home and his new friend just fine and he planned to stay for a while. His owner came and got him the next day, much to the dismay of Sebastian. More cat tails to come.....
Sebastian is a big black cat with an attitude! He came into my life because I wanted another cat since Ringo decided that my cooking wasn’t good enough. So off to the Animal Shelter I went. He was the last cat I saw. He had been abandoned on the highway and was extremely playful and maybe a little pissed off with his situation. I tapped on the glass of his cage and he immediately jumped up and started to play! He won my heart so I adopted him. ( I wish I could have taken all the cats home that day) Good thing I did, as he was to be put to sleep the next day! When we were checking him out of “kitty jail” he entertained all of us by playing with a ball of tape. The woman that worked there thought I should name him Pele after the great soccer player, but Sebastian really suits him.
Once I got him home all the adventures began. He is a friendly cat but sometimes he has a slight attitude problem, it comes down to this, he can't STAND to be forced to stay inside, he is a true adventurer. I’d had him about three weeks when he decided that he wanted to explore the neighborhood. Yep, you guessed it, he disappeared! For three long days I looked for him, silly cat! Then he just appeared back on my doorstep. I was so glad to see him and that he knew where he lived, but that was just the beginning. As Sebastian got older, he got more and more brave. He decided that it was great fun to jump into cars. I received calls on several occasions from frantic people that had accidentally taken Sebastian for a joy ride around the block. I guess he was trying to tell me that he wanted to travel....well, little did he know, he was going to get his wish!
As Sebastian settled into my home he started to establish his territory. He had a cat door so he was able to come and go as he pleased, BELIEVE ME he wouldn't have had it any other way! I can remember sitting in my back yard reading a book only to see Sebastian RUN by chasing the squirrel! This became the daily challenge, to see if he could catch it. He would wait and wait under the bushes and the POUNCE! Of course the squirrel was too quick and he would end up chasing it right up the tree! (where was Phantom when he needed her) Then the next challenge would be how to get down from the tree (didn't think about that one eh!) Thank god he never caught one, because it would have ended up in my house somewhere! He loves to bring me presents; after all I am his mommy. Speaking of bringing me presents...
As every cat owner knows, there comes a time in your life that your cat wants to show his unconditional love for you. Or maybe he thinks that new diet you are on is making you toooooooo skinny (right!) Whatever it may be, at some point in the cat/human relationship the cat feels the need to FEED YOU!! Sebastian would bring me birds, mice and butterflies. His favorite were birds. I guess he was amused by me trying to catch the poor bird as it was flying around the house pooping on everything! I can just hear him now "why the hell can't she catch that bird, it's NOT THAT HARD!" The worst was when I would have to pry the poor bird out of "the jaws of death" I did this by tickling Sebastian's feet! He would do his best to hold onto the bird but the need to STOP ME from tickling his feet always won and he would have to bite ME thus letting the poor bird go. He was especially good at gift giving when I had returned from a trip or something. It was like a little welcome home gift. I will always remember one gift in particular.
I had been in Hawaii and I had taken a long flight home. It was cold and snowy and I was dreaming of being on the beach in Hawaii when I heard Sebastian come through the cat door. The cat door was in the basement and Sebastian had to go up some stairs to get into the kitchen. Well I heard him come through the door and it sounded as if he fell down the stairs! Then I heard him in the dining room and it sounded as though he was playing with something. I got up in the dark and went to the dining room. I saw this black thing on the carpet, which I assumed was Sebastian until I turned on the light! It was a huge black frozen crow!!!!Sebastian had found it outside in the snow, pushed it through the cat door where it rolled down the stairs. He then dragged it up the stairs (it was about as big as him) and left it on the dining room carpet for mommy! It was lying there feet up in the air, completely frozen! To this day, I have no idea where he found it.
At some point Sebastian decided that he was lonely. He had a lot of cat friends that would come over, but they all had permanent homes. His best friend was a pure white cat with a striped tail. I would come home and they would be playing under the bed. I can almost hear the cat conversation now. “Hey, you want to come over?” “My mommy is going to be gone all day, imagine the fun we can have!” Anyway, Sebastian started to bring lots of cats home. One was a sweet little black and white cat that I named Duchess until I found out that he was a Duke. Unfortunately, Duchess was very sick and did not live very long. I made sure that his last days were filled with comfort and love.
And then came the day he brought home a Turkish Angora that looked like it had been on the road and out in the cold for a while. They really liked each other so I decided that I would adopt the Turkish Angora. I hadn't even figured out a name for the cat when my dad called and said that there was an ad for a white cat that had been missing for about 10 weeks! I called the number and made arrangements for her to come over and see if he was her cat. The minute she walked in the door she immediately recognized him, his name was Roman. She was very happy, Roman, on the other hand, ran down to the basement! She went down to get him there was a lot of hissing and commotion but she finally got a hold of him. So we said our goodbyes BUT just as she was trying to get in the car with him he did a twisting maneuver and escaped! At the same time Sebastian came running out from under the car and with Sebastian at Roman's side, they ran off down the street one black cat and one white into the darkness of the night. Poetic isn't it! I told her that she could come back tomorrow because there was no way that we would be able to catch them now. About an hour later the two of them came home and jumped up on the couch together. Roman liked his new home and his new friend just fine and he planned to stay for a while. His owner came and got him the next day, much to the dismay of Sebastian. More cat tails to come.....
Monday, October 22, 2007
"Armani does not make a blue tuxedo!"
Ringo
Ringo came along quite unexpectedly and I was so glad to have him. I was still mourning the loss of Phantom so he was a breath of fresh air in my life. The college I attended had an animal health technology department. They had lots of cats and dogs that they would “practice” on. Well one day the department decided that they had too many animals so they let some go. ( this was the 80's, today I think there would be more control over the treatment of the animals) One of those animals was Ringo. Several people had seen him scavenging through the garbage near the cafeteria. He was extremely cute, a little black and white tuxedo cat. One day It was snowing pretty hard and there he was looking in the garbage for something to eat, well I was smitten, I picked him up put him in my jacket and took him home.
Boy did he have an attitude! He was so full of energy that he would play for hours. One of his favorite things to do was to swing on the curtains. Now he was not supposed to do that of course, but did that ever stop a cat? He would run around the apartment building up speed and then WEEEEEE he would leap up onto the curtain and literally swing like Tarzan! His other favorite thing to do was to jump up on to the counter while I was on the phone or busy, that way I couldn't’t get to him, again the 80's BEFORE cordless phones! One day in particular comes to mind. I was doing the dishes and the kitchen sink looked out to the living room. There was a counter where you could sit and have breakfast. Well Ringo was running around building up speed to swing on the curtains, but at the last minute he decided that he would jump up to the counter. Again I was doing dishes with lots of soapy water. Ringo jumped up hit a place mat and slid right into the sink full of water! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I don't think he jumped up on the counter again for quite a while!
Ringo also loves to eat, his favorite food is chicken, but one day I was cooking dinner inside my apartment, and we could smell something cooking nearby. Sure enough two balconies over my neighbors were grilling steak. Ringo got a whiff of that and disappeared out the door. He climbed up to their balcony, and resembling a scene out of Mission Impossible, Ringo absconded with the steak! Can you believe that? He was still a little tyke, but he was going to have that steak. He ran off into the bush and had a wonderful dinner. The neighbor never did figure out what happened, I’m not telling.
When I moved home I brought Ringo with me, "oh no" thought dad! But even dad's can have a soft place in their hearts for a little kitty. Ringo adjusted well to life in a big house with lots of chairs to sleep on and endless amounts of chicken. He soon became a very spoiled and fat cat! So dad had a plan to get Ringo on an exercise program. Ringo always wanted to go outside, especially when it was snowing, he was a mountain cat after all! Well one day, early in the morning Ringo was meowing at the top of the stairs for someone to let him out! My dad is always up early and boy did he let Ringo out! The cat followed dad into the bathroom so dad just put him out the window onto the garage roof. It had been snowing all night and, well, lets just put it this way, Ringo resembled a fine Austrian skier that day as he “skied” down the roof! After that he always used the bathroom window as his own personal cat door, he just climbs up and down the tree to reach the roof. Hence the exercise program, he was soon a lean, strong cat able to take on ALL the other neighborhood cats!
When I finally moved into my own house, I attempted to take Ringo with me, after all he is mine right? Wrong! He wanted to stay with my mom and dad, why you ask? Because the food is better! He gets his daily dose of chicken over there. So, I reluctantly gave him to my parents. (secretly my dad is smiling, he loves Ringo, just doesn't want all of us to know that) He is very happy with them and gets a wonderful kitty massage (vigorous scratch) from dad everyday. Sadly, Ringo passed away in April 2002, I will always remember him swinging on those curtains and I know he had a loving, happy home.
Ringo came along quite unexpectedly and I was so glad to have him. I was still mourning the loss of Phantom so he was a breath of fresh air in my life. The college I attended had an animal health technology department. They had lots of cats and dogs that they would “practice” on. Well one day the department decided that they had too many animals so they let some go. ( this was the 80's, today I think there would be more control over the treatment of the animals) One of those animals was Ringo. Several people had seen him scavenging through the garbage near the cafeteria. He was extremely cute, a little black and white tuxedo cat. One day It was snowing pretty hard and there he was looking in the garbage for something to eat, well I was smitten, I picked him up put him in my jacket and took him home.
Boy did he have an attitude! He was so full of energy that he would play for hours. One of his favorite things to do was to swing on the curtains. Now he was not supposed to do that of course, but did that ever stop a cat? He would run around the apartment building up speed and then WEEEEEE he would leap up onto the curtain and literally swing like Tarzan! His other favorite thing to do was to jump up on to the counter while I was on the phone or busy, that way I couldn't’t get to him, again the 80's BEFORE cordless phones! One day in particular comes to mind. I was doing the dishes and the kitchen sink looked out to the living room. There was a counter where you could sit and have breakfast. Well Ringo was running around building up speed to swing on the curtains, but at the last minute he decided that he would jump up to the counter. Again I was doing dishes with lots of soapy water. Ringo jumped up hit a place mat and slid right into the sink full of water! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I don't think he jumped up on the counter again for quite a while!
Ringo also loves to eat, his favorite food is chicken, but one day I was cooking dinner inside my apartment, and we could smell something cooking nearby. Sure enough two balconies over my neighbors were grilling steak. Ringo got a whiff of that and disappeared out the door. He climbed up to their balcony, and resembling a scene out of Mission Impossible, Ringo absconded with the steak! Can you believe that? He was still a little tyke, but he was going to have that steak. He ran off into the bush and had a wonderful dinner. The neighbor never did figure out what happened, I’m not telling.
When I moved home I brought Ringo with me, "oh no" thought dad! But even dad's can have a soft place in their hearts for a little kitty. Ringo adjusted well to life in a big house with lots of chairs to sleep on and endless amounts of chicken. He soon became a very spoiled and fat cat! So dad had a plan to get Ringo on an exercise program. Ringo always wanted to go outside, especially when it was snowing, he was a mountain cat after all! Well one day, early in the morning Ringo was meowing at the top of the stairs for someone to let him out! My dad is always up early and boy did he let Ringo out! The cat followed dad into the bathroom so dad just put him out the window onto the garage roof. It had been snowing all night and, well, lets just put it this way, Ringo resembled a fine Austrian skier that day as he “skied” down the roof! After that he always used the bathroom window as his own personal cat door, he just climbs up and down the tree to reach the roof. Hence the exercise program, he was soon a lean, strong cat able to take on ALL the other neighborhood cats!
When I finally moved into my own house, I attempted to take Ringo with me, after all he is mine right? Wrong! He wanted to stay with my mom and dad, why you ask? Because the food is better! He gets his daily dose of chicken over there. So, I reluctantly gave him to my parents. (secretly my dad is smiling, he loves Ringo, just doesn't want all of us to know that) He is very happy with them and gets a wonderful kitty massage (vigorous scratch) from dad everyday. Sadly, Ringo passed away in April 2002, I will always remember him swinging on those curtains and I know he had a loving, happy home.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Ghost Cat
Phantom
Phantom appeared soon after I lost Blacky. She was a beautiful gray long haired cat that would only allow a select few to see her, hence her name Phantom. One minute she would be there and then “POOF” gone like she’d never been there at all. I figured that she must have been an abused cat because she was so timid and afraid of people. She especially did not like men. She would run whenever she saw my dad or any man.
After many weeks of tempting her with food, Phantom finally grew to trust me and we became fast friends. She used to sleep with me in my room and when she wanted to go out she would scratch this poster that was on the wall. The noise would wake me instantly, and she knew that. She would scratch, scratch and scratch until I got out of bed (usually in the middle of the night) and let her outside!
She was incredibly athletic and used to climb trees like I have never seen. She would climb right up to where the birds had their nests; then she would rob them of the babies and enjoy a little snack! Amazing! When it was dinnertime, she had a ritual she used to go through. She would sit down in front of her water dish and wash her paws! dipping delicately into the the water. When they were all clean then she would eat and after dinner she would wash her face and paws in the water dish again, that same delicate motion, dip, dip, wash, wash.
I only had Phantom for about a year, I attempted to take her to college with me. She did not like that one bit! She got out on the balcony one night and disappeared into the mountains of Colorado.... I spent months looking for her, I put up flyer's, looked everywhere, but she was gone, it was heartbreaking. I will never forget her and I am thankful for the time I got to spend with her (although way too short) and I hope she found a nice happy place to live with lots of trees for her to climb.....more Cat Tails to come
Phantom appeared soon after I lost Blacky. She was a beautiful gray long haired cat that would only allow a select few to see her, hence her name Phantom. One minute she would be there and then “POOF” gone like she’d never been there at all. I figured that she must have been an abused cat because she was so timid and afraid of people. She especially did not like men. She would run whenever she saw my dad or any man.
After many weeks of tempting her with food, Phantom finally grew to trust me and we became fast friends. She used to sleep with me in my room and when she wanted to go out she would scratch this poster that was on the wall. The noise would wake me instantly, and she knew that. She would scratch, scratch and scratch until I got out of bed (usually in the middle of the night) and let her outside!
She was incredibly athletic and used to climb trees like I have never seen. She would climb right up to where the birds had their nests; then she would rob them of the babies and enjoy a little snack! Amazing! When it was dinnertime, she had a ritual she used to go through. She would sit down in front of her water dish and wash her paws! dipping delicately into the the water. When they were all clean then she would eat and after dinner she would wash her face and paws in the water dish again, that same delicate motion, dip, dip, wash, wash.
I only had Phantom for about a year, I attempted to take her to college with me. She did not like that one bit! She got out on the balcony one night and disappeared into the mountains of Colorado.... I spent months looking for her, I put up flyer's, looked everywhere, but she was gone, it was heartbreaking. I will never forget her and I am thankful for the time I got to spend with her (although way too short) and I hope she found a nice happy place to live with lots of trees for her to climb.....more Cat Tails to come
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Beware of Kitty
Welcome to Cat Tails, the "Tails" that follow are about all the cats I have known in my life and the MANY adventures we have had.....ENJOY!
Blacky
Blacky was my first cat and the cat that I grew up with. He was a huge black cat, hence the name Blacky. My father rescued Blacky when he was just a kitten. He had gotten himself into some kind of trouble with a dog and was in need of a savior. Dad saved him and he became our cat, to this day I’m not really sure if dad actually wanted a cat but Blacky was here to stay.
I loved him; he on the other hand was not too impressed with children. I’m sure he was not impressed with me the day I threw him into the backyard pool because “he wanted to go swimming!” My mother rescued him and told me that was not a nice thing to do, I thought he was hot. Needless to say Blacky kept his distance from me for a while!
We used to travel a lot and when we returned Blacky would be waiting for us. One time when we came home, Blacky was not there to greet us at the door. He was missing for three days my mother was beside herself with worry, and then he finally showed up. Blacky had been hit by a car and the poor thing had a broken jaw! Off to the vet he went they fixed him up, but from then on one eye was always shut and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Not a pretty picture, but we all loved him anyway. We thought he was unique! To show off his lovely face Dad took the most wonderful picture of him. It was late November and the pumpkin that had been sitting on our porch since Halloween was looking rather rotten and squished. Blacky was sitting next to it and Dad snapped a picture, it’s priceless! Rotten pumpkin and Black disfigured cat! We should have entered it in a photo contest, but that would insult Blacky.
One of my favorite traits about Blacky was his ability to kick ass against dogs of any shape and size! He just never got over that first attack when he was a kitten. A few experiences come to mind. The first happened when I was sitting in the living room playing the piano. I heard this horrible yelp and I looked out the window just in time to see Blacky riding an Irish Setter down the street. He was digging his claws in and holding on tight just like a jockey at the Kentucky Derby! The second incident that comes to mind was, I was standing out on the driveway with Blacky just enjoying the sun. When around the corner came a woman walking three huge dogs. Well I knew what was going to happen so I cleared out! Sure enough Blacky jumped on one of the dogs and started to fight. The woman was yelling at me to help her, but what could I do? The dogs were running around in circles wrapping the woman up in their leashes. Finally when they passed the boundary of Blacky’s yard, he jumped off and went back to grooming as if nothing happened! Needless to say I don’t think she ever walked her dogs through our yard again.
Blacky was also very acrobatic as most cats are. His favorite thing to do in the morning was to go over to the neighbor’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Parker had a beautiful white picket fence around their house and Blacky used to jump up and sit on the gate for a second before moving onto the porch. One fine morning Mrs. Parker came out to get the morning paper and just as she opened the gate Blacky was in mid air and looking for the gate. I think their eyes met for one brief second before Blacky fell to the ground. Can you imagine the look of surprise on that cat’s face when there was suddenly nothing to land on; it must have been priceless. He did the same sort of thing going after the birds one day in the garden. He was hiding under the birdbath waiting for his chance. When he leaped up to catch a bird he landed spread eagle in the birdbath! He never tried that one again.
Blacky lived for 14 years. He was my companion when I was growing up and I miss him to this day. I will always remember him. More Cat Tails to come......
Blacky was my first cat and the cat that I grew up with. He was a huge black cat, hence the name Blacky. My father rescued Blacky when he was just a kitten. He had gotten himself into some kind of trouble with a dog and was in need of a savior. Dad saved him and he became our cat, to this day I’m not really sure if dad actually wanted a cat but Blacky was here to stay.
I loved him; he on the other hand was not too impressed with children. I’m sure he was not impressed with me the day I threw him into the backyard pool because “he wanted to go swimming!” My mother rescued him and told me that was not a nice thing to do, I thought he was hot. Needless to say Blacky kept his distance from me for a while!
We used to travel a lot and when we returned Blacky would be waiting for us. One time when we came home, Blacky was not there to greet us at the door. He was missing for three days my mother was beside herself with worry, and then he finally showed up. Blacky had been hit by a car and the poor thing had a broken jaw! Off to the vet he went they fixed him up, but from then on one eye was always shut and his tongue hung out of his mouth. Not a pretty picture, but we all loved him anyway. We thought he was unique! To show off his lovely face Dad took the most wonderful picture of him. It was late November and the pumpkin that had been sitting on our porch since Halloween was looking rather rotten and squished. Blacky was sitting next to it and Dad snapped a picture, it’s priceless! Rotten pumpkin and Black disfigured cat! We should have entered it in a photo contest, but that would insult Blacky.
One of my favorite traits about Blacky was his ability to kick ass against dogs of any shape and size! He just never got over that first attack when he was a kitten. A few experiences come to mind. The first happened when I was sitting in the living room playing the piano. I heard this horrible yelp and I looked out the window just in time to see Blacky riding an Irish Setter down the street. He was digging his claws in and holding on tight just like a jockey at the Kentucky Derby! The second incident that comes to mind was, I was standing out on the driveway with Blacky just enjoying the sun. When around the corner came a woman walking three huge dogs. Well I knew what was going to happen so I cleared out! Sure enough Blacky jumped on one of the dogs and started to fight. The woman was yelling at me to help her, but what could I do? The dogs were running around in circles wrapping the woman up in their leashes. Finally when they passed the boundary of Blacky’s yard, he jumped off and went back to grooming as if nothing happened! Needless to say I don’t think she ever walked her dogs through our yard again.
Blacky was also very acrobatic as most cats are. His favorite thing to do in the morning was to go over to the neighbor’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Parker had a beautiful white picket fence around their house and Blacky used to jump up and sit on the gate for a second before moving onto the porch. One fine morning Mrs. Parker came out to get the morning paper and just as she opened the gate Blacky was in mid air and looking for the gate. I think their eyes met for one brief second before Blacky fell to the ground. Can you imagine the look of surprise on that cat’s face when there was suddenly nothing to land on; it must have been priceless. He did the same sort of thing going after the birds one day in the garden. He was hiding under the birdbath waiting for his chance. When he leaped up to catch a bird he landed spread eagle in the birdbath! He never tried that one again.
Blacky lived for 14 years. He was my companion when I was growing up and I miss him to this day. I will always remember him. More Cat Tails to come......
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
