I Learned to Love Cats

All through growing up and into my twenties, I never had a cat and knew very little about them. As adults, my little sister loved cats and always had them around her. I thought she was nuts. Cats are cold hearted and hard to love.

Then when my daughter was around 7, she wanted a pet. Where we were living at the time, didn't seem to me a suitable home for a dog. So, for the first time in my life, my eyes wandered toward the cat.

We visited the pound. Oh we saw the cutest kittens, and there was one cat that looked just like Silvester. When the attendant drew our attention to an orange tabby and said this was her last day, we chose the orange tabby.

This was my first education in cats. I had an old lazy boy chair, with narrow arms. That cat could jump up onto the arm of the chair and prance toward me but then, every time she tried to turn around, she lost her balance and certainly her graceful attitude. I laughed so hard at the dumb cat who couldn't keep her balance.

It turned into a daily routine, with her determined to turn around on that narrow ledge, while keeping in step without losing her balance.

I could swear, I saw humiliation in that cat's face. The day she finally accomplished a graceful turn, she stopped and waited for praise.

I never knew cats had such a personality. There were even times when she would do something wicked, just to get back at me for something I did.

We had a field, out behind the house and every now and then we were invaded by a mouse. One night, I camped out in front of the TV, in a sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Sometime in the middle of the night, I was awakened by funny little sounds, opened my eyes and right there in front of my face, my cat dropped a live mouse.

My eyes flew open and I screamed as I jumped up on a chair, yelling "Catch it! Catch it!" She caught it many times but then while looking up to see my reaction, dropped it again. Now I was yelling, "You evil cat! Kill it!"

I was sure fully awake. Finally, she caught the mouse and gave it the death blow as she crunched down on its little body.

Relieved, I climbed back into the sleeping back and thought to go back to sleep. Oh, no. She didn't want me to miss a thing. She sat right next to my head and ate that mouse. I could hear every bone breaking and I cringed, every time.

I soon discovered how cats like to bring you presents. Presents like a dead bird or mouse. Sometimes these presents were hidden under your bed covers for a later surprise.

Through the years, I've had many cats, having been initiated into the cat crazed group. The one I miss, and the one I'll always remember was D.C.

What's the D.C. stand for? Damn Cat! Now D.C. came to me through a wild litter, born somewhere very near the house. The whole litter adopted me but I couldn't keep them all. I wound up with D.C. to keep and love.

Now, being a ceramist and artists, there is always someplace nearby where I do my work. Every night, this little kitten would get hold of one of my favorite brushes and play with it. The next morning, I would find myself searching throughout the house for that brush. When I found it, there was a bit of noise in the house as I shouted at the cat, "You damn cat! Leave my things alone! Bad cat. Bad cat!"

One night, I was so tired from being awakened, constantly, by the mischief of this kitten, I gave up, opened the door and threw her out. Around 5 A.M. I woke up to discover she was plastered between the window pane and the screen and crying her little lungs out. I took pity on her and rescued her.

There was no carpet in the bathroom. So every night, I would lay a towel out on the floor to step out onto. The kitten discovered what fun it was, to come running around the corner, stop on the towel and slide all the way to the other end of the bathroom. I finished my shower and discovered my towel 10 feet away. Again, the noise would happen. Night after night, she did this to me.

One night, I got a bright idea. I took a little piece of yarn and tied it to the middle of her tail. She began to chase that yarn around and around. While she was occupied chasing her own tail, I got my shower and was so pleased to finally get to step out onto a towel.

The next night, I did it again and it worked beautifully. The third night, I turned on the water to let the hot water get up and the cat just started chasing her tail. There was no yarn, this time. So I got my shower and again, stepped out onto the towel.

From then on, every night when I turned on the shower, this little kitten chased her tail. Boy, was I happy. It kept her occupied and out of mischief while I got a shower.

By the time D.C. came along, my daughter was married and gone and I was alone. I suppose that's the reason there was such a bond between myself and this crazy cat.

This was the one and only cat, I ever owned, who came running to me and jumped through the air, landing spread eagle against my chest, with her front paws around my neck. Sometimes I saw it coming and sometimes not.

The day came when I didn't see it coming and was raising my arm at the wrong time. Her face smacked into my arm, she bounced back off me and ran away. Never again did she jump up on me. She didn't trust me, any more. That was heart breaking.

Then the neighborhood birds, got into the crazy scene. They had learned that when I called, the cat responded and came to me. Many times, she would sit on the ground, listening to their babies in the nest above. This, of course, unnerved the birds. I know it's hard to believe, but the male bird came to sit on the high wire behind the house and screech until I came out the door. It didn't take long to figure out what the problem was.

I called the cat, the cat obeyed and the bird flew off to its nest. Each spring, day after day, I had to call the cat to shut up the bird.

I finally lost D.C. It was during a move. I had her running around loose in the back seat of the car, when I stopped at the U-haul dealer. I thought I was watching closer than evidently I did, because when I returned to the car, she was gone. I searched and searched but had to go on with the move.

It's been over 10 years and the memory still haunts me. I miss that crazy cat. There will never be another D.C.

What I discovered, over the years is a lot more than I expected. Cats really do have their ways of showing affection. They really do have personalities and they are all different.

The difference I've found between dogs and cats, is that cats don't need as much personal attention as a dog, to be content. That and cats cover up their potty spots, which is nice.

Don't hold back owning a cat, just because you don't understand them. Believe me, they will educate you.