If you hadn’t realized this already, we are crazy cat people. Like for real. We never set out to be, it just… happened.
When I met Seth he had one awesome cat. And when he died we took in a stray kitten that the neighborhood kids found in a dumpster and brought to us. It stayed that way for a year – we had just one cat. Then we adopted a dog. And it stayed that way for a year – one dog, one cat.
Then someone I worked with found a very sickly stray cat and we took her home. So it was one dog and two cats. That poor kitty had severe hyperthyroidism and she only lived for about a year after we adopted her.
After her, the first of our “just waltzed in the front door” cats happened. I was sound asleep, and a slightly sheepish, slightly hyper husband woke me up by saying “You know that fuzzy stray cat we’ve been seeing around?” Me, groggy: “Yeah.” Seth: “He’s in the downstairs bathroom.” Me, struggling to unearth myself from the blankets and sit up: “WHAT?” Seth: “Yeah… I opened the front door and he just… walked in.”
That, my friends, was the start of a trend in our lives. Seth opens the door to a stray cat and lets it just walk into our house. And it stays. We have now acquired 3 cats by that method. A fourth was a stray who came to our back door all bloodied up and needing vet care STAT. He didn’t walk in the door, we catnapped him and cleaned him up and stashed him in a bathroom until we could get him to the vet later that day. So while he didn’t technically walk in an opened door, he came close.
When I acquire cats it tends to be more deliberate. I find folks who have kittens they’re trying to get rid of and bring one home in hopes Seth will decide it’s so cute it can stay.
In short, in our 21 years together, we have acquired 2 shelter cats, 2 kittens I heard word of, and 6 strays off the street who decided to stay. We’ve lost 4 cats to a car, hyperthyroidism, repeated urinary blockages (despite $2,000 surgery to turn him basically into a girl), and cancer. But we currently have a grand total of 6 cats. SIX CATS PEOPLE. We are seriously crazy.
Three of our cats, Sneakers, Rocky, and Wednesday, basically want nothing to do with the children. They’re adept at slinking underneath outstretched little hands and dashing off to do their own catly things.
Three of our cats, though, truly love the children. And it brings me so much joy to watch their interactions.
It started with Pippin, one of Seth’s “waltzed in” cats. Little Mouse LOVED Pippin, and it was mutual. When she was a baby he’d snuggle up and nap with her and clean her little bald head. She’d fall asleep with her fingers tangled in his shaggy fur.
When she got to the toddler stage, he would tolerate her grabbing him round the middle and hugging him with all her toddler might. They had the sweetest relationship.
Pippin tolerates all the kids still, but he had a special relationship with Mouse that he hasn’t shared with any of the other kids, which makes me a little sad. I wonder if he misses Mouse like I do.
Then there’s Astrid, a.k.a. Le Shittén. She’s hell on wheels and a mischievous little shit and a carpet pee-er. But god, she’s great with the kids. They dress her up and carry her around and she just tolerates all of it with endless good grace. It’s her redeeming quality. She needs one.
And now there’s Romeo. He just moved in a couple of weeks ago (waltzed in the door like he owned the place) but he’s quickly gotten attached to the kids and has inserted himself into our bedtime routines. It’s so cute it hurts.
He helps me put Dude Man to bed by coming into the room and purring loudly the entire time I’m rocking the baby. Then he helps put Tiny to bed by listening to the story. I mean seriously. How much cuter can a cat be? It’s like he is so happy to have a family and is taking responsibility for each member in turn.
And that kind of thing is why we have 6 cats. Because in their own ways they’re each too damn cute. Also, there’s a sign over our door that reads “SUCKERS” in giant letters visible only to cats.
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