I Am Amazed At The Wonders Of My Cat

"Oh, I found it, you may go now."

Several years ago, I wrote a short poem expounding on the wonders of my cat. My cat at the time was named Moe. He was a nice, long haired, black cat. He had personality…one day he went outside on a cold January morning. When he came back he was still black, just not so fluffy. Our lovely neighbor stored their used motor oil in an open pan, which apparently had collected some snow and water. The water froze, and it seemed obvious at the time, then Moe came along and somehow landed on the ice, which dutifully collapsed, cat and all. Moe was dripping oil. He rushed in the door before Cora or I knew hat was wrong…there still appears to be a slight Moe print in the carpet. It is quite faint now. Another day, he went out and he never came back. We were very sad that it was him and not the semi-psycho cat, Sassy, that disappeared. (I should point out that in her final years, Sassy actually became a very dear member of the family, whose eventual demise was extremely difficult for me) Eventually, we got over Moe. I still have a poem that points out his wonders, though…somewhere.

With that, I am forced to continue my previous musings over the wonders of my cat. Moe and Sassy are gone. We still have Sully. Sully, our black and white long haired Canine cat. He seems to think he is at least part dog. We got Toby in the spring of 2002, within a couple weeks we got Sullivan.

I was at home one day in the spring. Cora called and asked me to bring some canned cat food to her. I knew something was up, so I told her no immediately. Then I went down to see the kitten she had rescued. Apparently, while out on their walk the women of the plant saw a white (skinny) ball of fluff come out of the bushes. It further headed straight for my beloved wife. She already had a small box with some towels set up for the small black and white cotton ball. It looked at me with large eyes that pled for me to take them home (not the eye balls, the cotton ball)…I broke and told her she could bring him home.

He and Toby grew up together, and before Gypsy entered the picture, they were brothers and best friends. Often you would see the cat chase the dog down the hall and then the dog chase the cat back and then they would change roles again. They still play with each other from time to time, but Sullivan has matured whilst Toby has remained a puppy at heart. Sully, though, has developed some strange quirks.
First: He uses a dog door.
Second: He does not use a litter box…he goes outside.
Third: He seems to believe his place to sleep is on our feet, and despite being kicked numerous times, usually none too gently, he keeps coming back.
Fourth: He likes us to show him his bowl. It usually still has plenty of food in it, but he meows until he annoys us enough to follow him to his bowl. He then sits on the ground and meows more, then when you take that final step forward (often considering whether to drop-kick or hurl him in an arc out the door) he jumps up and “discovers” that he still has food. He even looks surprised. Then he nods at you as if to say, “You may go now.”
Fifth: He knows when you are in the bathroom. I swear, he could be three miles away and if I get up to go to the bathroom something clicks in his brain that tells him my bladder is full. He probably races home at the speed of fur, comes through the cat DOG door and wanders nonchalantly (and slightly out of breath) to the bathroom, which, if I have not locked and latched, he uses his paw to open. He then looks at you as though slightly hurt that you did not notify him ahead of time of your intentions to relieve yourself and thus make available to him idle hands which he figures are best used in petting a cat. If you ignore him, he comes over, steps into your pants and butts his head against you to remind you of his presence, if the ever-present loud purring was not enough.
Sixth: He drools.


"Listen, I let you follow me over here, but I wish you would not watch me eat!"


Gypsy was glad to see us tonight...can you tell?



I had a long day painting. I did not enjoy it. We did go see “Kung Fu Panda,” though! It is a GREAT movie! I highly recommend it! I hope your Independence Day Weekend goes well!