Cats, Cats and more Cats!!!

I am a cat lover and have been since my mom brought home the first fluffy orange and white tabby "mouser" when I was 3 years old. In fact that same cat, "Muff" aka "Muffy"was with me through most of my junior year of high school. She began as an outdoor cat with her primary mission to track down and kill the mice in our apartment. Muff moved with us to 4 other homes in the course of her life and end her days living the life of luxury in doors. I will admit that when I was growing up I wasn't always as attentive to Muff mainly because she was only in our home to eat in the morning and evenings. While Muff spent her time romping in the yard, chasing bugs, birds and other critters, I would spend my own time playing in the yard, making mud pies and catching grasshoppers. As I got older, I came to appreciate the love and affection that Muff would bestow upon me. She became my confidante, comforter and cushion. She slept on my bed and in fact we often fought over the same pillow.

When I was in junior high my aunt's cat Autumn came to live with us permanently. Autumn was 10 years younger than Muff and often was the annoying little kitten that constantly got on Muff's nerves. In the early years of Autumn living with us, her and I did not get along because of how much she tormented Muff. That changed when Muff had to be put to sleep due to kidney failure associated with old age. Suddenly I found I didn't have my confidante any longer and Autumn was completely my mom's cat.

Neither Autumn nor Muff were what you would call lap cats, in fact one had to be careful to if Autumn was on their lap as she was a skittery cat and would jump ten feet at any little sound and usually she would dig her claws into your legs prior to that jump! As Autumn got older she mellowed somewhat and eventually became my cat, especially when my mom remarried. Steve (My dad), at the time, was not too fond of cats, in fact he pretty much hated them. Autumn was no longer allowed in my mom's bedroom and found herself relegated to my room. The only problem, I was away at college and only came home on vacations.

I have had cats in my life for over 30 years. The only time I wasn't around cats was during college and the first year after I graduated college. Within 4 months of dating Matthew I was introduced to Cinnamon. Cinnamon was a feral kitten born nearby the apartment complexes that Matthew and I lived in and at the time were actually living in a mutual friend's engine. On an evening when Matthew and Gary were going to work on Gary's car, they opened the hood to the car and 4 kittens scattered. We were able to capture 2 of the kittens but the other 2 and "Mama" were too fast. Animal Control had been called to come and pick up the kittens and while I was waiting I fell in love with the one kitten. I had secretly been wanting a kitten for months but my apartment complex didn't allow us to have cats. Eventually I made a decision to keep the kitten and figured I could hide long enough until I had found a new home. Much to Matthew's chagrin, Cinnamon came home with me that night and has been a part of my/our lives ever since.

Cinnamon is truly a fun cat, however Matthew would call her neurotic. She is the typical single person cat and unlike my other experiences with the feline species, she has to be in the same room as me and constantly follows me around. Cinnamon also wasn't a lap cat in the beginning, however now that is one of her favorite spots to hang out! Matthew, much like my dad is not real enthusiastic about cats. He is truly a dog lover; thus there is a tolerance, albeit hostel, at times between him and Cinnamon. Matthew believes it stems from the fact that for each of the procedures (de-clawing and spaying) he was the one to take Cinnamon to the vet and I got to pick her up afterwards, thus she associates every bad thing that has happened to hear with Matthew. Which is possible! I believe it comes from the fact that he is a dog lover and has not patience for cats and their finicky personalities.

Why does it seem that those who protest the most about their dislike of cats, are easily swayed by the desperate meow of a homeless kitten/cat? Both my dad and Matthew have both fallen victim to that cry and have been transformed! My parents, spear-headed by my dad, eventually adopted two stray kittens who were "unofficially" living in their neighbor's garage. As for Matthew and I, we seem to be the ones who were adopted by two stray cats living in our neighborhood, who unofficially sought refuge in our garage from time to time. Now the garage is their permanent home and we feed them on a regular basis much to the despair of Cinnamon. Cinnamon has not adjusted well to the fact that there are two cats who live in our garage. There isn't any direct contact between the three cats, unless you count the window between them. For the last couple of months, Cinnamon has been obsessed with the cats in the garage, especially once they started making an appearance in our front yard at the same time Cinnamon decided to hang out in the window sill that faced the front yard!! Many nights or early mornings, Matthew and I would wake up to the mewing/howling of cats who are fighting. It took a few times to figure out that it was happening in our own front yard through the front window; thus, we have had to take measures to block the view in the window. However it doesn't stop Cinnamon's early morning vigil of hanging out in the den under the now blocked window or the 50 times she runs up and down the stairs to see if she can catch a peek at the "garage" kitties.

Matthew and I have taken to naming the garage kitties Stripes and Tiny, more as a way to distinguish them when Matthew and I shared stories about our interactions with them. Since both of these cats are strays and spend their lives outside, they are dirty!!! Thus last night I made the decision to give them a bath! Crazy, I know but in the end worth it! See our pictures below.