Back when I first met Jimmy, I was dangerously close to becoming an old Cat Lady.
I was 30, single and had 3 cats. In one small apartment. It's amazing that I ever got a date. I would bring a guy back to my apartment and one by one the three cats would come out to meet the man which their Mommy had brought into their midst, and I could see the concern growing in my date's face as each cat entered the room and started checking him out.
And somehow, I had also started collecting...cat tchotchkes. A truly embarrassing number of small kitty figurines and kitty pictures and kitty potholders and kitty pajamas and kitty...well you get the idea. I could see how this could be deemed frightening.
I did not set out to become a creepy Cat Lady. I just somehow...accumulated them.
Cat Accumulation Timeline:
- College - adopted Bogie from the Humane Society.
- Moved to Dallas. Bogie passed away for unremembered reasons. It was very traumatizing.
- 1983 - Adopted Rodney from ex's parents.
- Adopted Mae from ex's parents (they had a terrifying number of cats, none of which they spayed or neutered - a font of kitties)
- Mae hit by car.
- The tragedy of Mae's death inspired me to make the cats indoor-only. I began to invest in those cat hair roller thingies.
- Adopted Bette from ex's parents.
- Louie appeared at my door. He joined the family.
- Louie died of kidney failure. Very traumatizing.
- 1987 - Imogene appeared at my door. She joined the family.
- 1989 - Moved to California with Rodney, Bette and Imogene. 3 cats, one Toyota Tercel.
- String of boyfriends subjected to 3 cats.
- 1995 - Married Jimmy, making him the official Cat Daddy.
- 1998 - Rodney, aged 14, passed away from cancer.
- 2002 - Bette, aged 17, passed away from old age.
- 2009 - Imogene, aged 23, passed away from extreme old age.
- Jimmy refuses to let me adopt another cat.
- My time as Cat Lady comes to an end.
Of all of my feline companions, the most important and memorable was definitely Rodney.
Rodney was beyond cat. I always said that he was one reincarnation away from human. This cat was exceptional.
He was completely gregarious - he loved people. I think that he thought he was a person. He followed me everywhere I went. I could actually take him places - he loved the car. When Jimmy or I would get home, he would leap up on our shoulders and ride around until we made him get down. He went crazy for french fries and cantaloupe. Everybody who met him was completely taken by him. Friends would drop by to bring the cat presents just because they liked him so much.
I can still remember the smell of that cat and the satisfying warmth of his fur under my hand when I snuggled him. I had a deep and profound love for that animal.
When he got sick, and was diagnosed with inoperable cancer, I held him for days as he slowly wasted away. He purred the whole time. When Jimmy and I decided that it was time to put him to sleep, we both held him, whispering in his ears, telling him how much we loved him, as the doctor gave him the injection. I still celebrate the anniversary of his death, February 21st.
Have I once again revealed too much?
Jude and I desperately want another cat. We think that Fancy, our sweet little dog, would get along well with a kitten. But Jimmy firmly refuses. I'm afraid that at the end of our Imogene's life, she spent about a year living in the kitty nursing home, also known as the laundry room. She was completely incontinent and senile. I mean, she was 23 after all! But it was all just a little too much...urine for Jimmy. He says he can no longer be the Cat Daddy.
But I know that I still have it in me, the tendency toward Cat Ladydom. I can totally see myself as a loony old widow, living surrounded by my cat babies. Knitting them little sweaters. Sleeping with them all over my bed. Succumbing once again to the lure of the kitty tchotchke.
Oh well, something to look forward to!
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If you're an animal lover, you simply MUST read the other Pets spins...
Nadine at All Along the Hightower
Vandy J at The Testosterone Three and Me
Nain at View From Down Here - NEW on FRIDAY
Ginny Marie at Lemon Drop Pie - NEW on FRIDAY
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Next week on the Spin Cycle...
Nothing
That's right, we're taking a week off while I head to New York to perform Mozart's Requiem in Carnegie Hall. For those who missed this exciting update, read about it HERE. I will try my best to check in here and post a little something. But don't count on it. I do promise a Carnegie Hall recap once I get back.
However, in TWO weeks, that's the week of May 27 - May 31 on the Spin Cycle...
Best and Worst
Inspired by Elizabeth's post HERE.
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It's a week about contrasts.
What's great? What's dreadful? Spill it all. It's an excellent opportunity to cheer and to rant.
This is wide open, so take the next two weeks to think about it and let your mind go!
Write it, post it, tell me, I'll link it.
See you in TWO WEEKS. And be sure and wish us luck at Carnegie Hall!
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