On Living with Cats

It isn't a simple matter, this living with cats. There are those who would have you believe that a cat falls somewhere between a dog and a potted plant on the continuum of sentient beings, but they're wrong. Quite wrong. In fact, approaching the sharing of quarters with cats with that in mind will only lead to trouble.

While cats will, at times, be reminiscient of the potted plant what with their affinity for sitting on windowsills and finding a place on a highest shelf, the mistake of equating the two must never be made. To say that a cat is superior to a potted plant is putting it lightly. And to let a cat know that you think anything less is not a good way to start. It is the way of cats to subtly rule and there is a reason that they have been viewed as nie unto supernatural since people have had relationships with them.

I have three cats at this point, and have had two others before, and each of them is as different from the other as it is possible to be. There is Mr. Fitch, an impressive fluff of a back and white, who is decorous and polite, and quick to crawl under the bedcovers upon the appearance of someone he does not know. Amarina is an orange tiger whose main purpose in life seems to be being beautiful. Never have I met a cat who could turn her head and change her eyes in less than a moment causing people to literally gasp, "She's so beautiful...." I swear she does it on purpose. Mamakin, the youngest of this bunch, is pure white with maybe three black hairs on the top of her head. She is the funky one, the one with a bit of the 'hood in her soul. She came to me on Memorial Day weekend two years ago, five kittens in tow, challenged me for my deck as her turf, and we've been friends ever since.

Living with cats is a negotiation from the start and the rules will change at the whim of the cat. Or cats, as the case is in my house. No sooner is what appears to be an agreeable shared mode of existance established when one, or the trio, will decide to shake things up. This can affect something as simple as the food served for dinner or as critical as the number of hours slept during the night. The toys once favored are scorned, the sunny spot which had been a sure place to find one or more felines on a clear day becomes vacant, the one who cried wildly for bedtime at 11 now stays up all night. All one can do is flex and do one's best to accommodate all of the residents.

A life among cats, unless the unfair route of declawing is chosen, means replacing wall paper with semi-gloss paint, leaning toward wrought iron rather than fine woods when selecting diningroom furniture, and avoiding the use of climbable drapes in the windows. It means knowing that, no matter how meticulous you are, your floor will be festooned at times with clouds of cat hair and that these will be most visible when company settles down on the couch. It means that, if you vaccumed immediately before they arrived, your guests will question your sanity and accuse you of having imaginary friends. The cats have disappeared.

Yet there they are, and excellent judges of character they can be at times.

The cats talk. As I've said elsewhere, my old guy Abercrombie could sound for all the world like he was saying my name. There isn't a cat on this planet that isn't capable of saying, "Now!" They chirrup, they sing, and they scold without reservation. And they listen. They empathize and sympathize and then turn back their ears when it all gets out of hand as if to say, "Enough. Life is good and it's time to get on with it."

This living with cats isn't for everyone, and it certainly isn't a life of having it your way. But I've been lucky with the cats who have come to me and I can't imagine living any other way. Even the neurotic, problem child Moreta had a magic about her and charmed those she cared to with her fragile trust and aura of silence. And now I come home to the yowl of Mr. Fitch, a heart-stopping gaze from Amarina, and Mamakin sitting up on her haunches looking more than anything like she thinks she's a rabbit. It's just as it should be, and the cats make very sure it stays that way.