Another cat column

To anyone who has wondered, I have not written an article for a couple of weeks. I had a few other things on my plate, and I needed a little time to re-charge the old brain so I could amuse you with some new material. I discovered that people seem to enjoy hearing stories about cats, so I thought I would bring you another commentary in the life of a cat owner.

I have questioned myself many times as to what on earth we are doing with cats in our house. (Excuse me, I meant to say that I have wondered why we live in the house of cats, since the cats are the true owners of our house.) My husband loves his two critters, and they follow him around, as if he were the Pied Piper of Hamlin. That’s probably because he is the one who feeds them, changes their water, cleans their cat boxes, plays with them, and caters to their every whim. I, on the other hand, just try to find a place to sit on the couch so as not to disturb “the guys” from their naps. Naptime for these two is anytime from about 10:00 in the morning until about 4 the following morning.

So, let me share with you just how cats manage to take over a house. I have had a lot of experience with this.

First of all, they make you think they are cute, so you invite them into your home. This could be by way of adoption from the shelter, or from a friend or relative who thinks you need to have this cast-off cat; or you get them another way such as Craigslist (which is how we got both Scooter and Dennis).

Once a cat is legally in your home, the cat takes over. You are at its mercy. You must make sure you have the proper food and food bowls. Our veterinarian told us not to feed the cats in plastic bowls, as the plastic is not good for their gums and can cause infections or cancer. We have stainless steel bowls for our guys. The food must have meat, as cats are meat-eaters. Don’t ever try to make a cat a vegetarian. Believe me, you will lose that battle. They do eat grass occasionally, but they only borrow the grass. You will find “used grass” on your kitchen floor or carpet later.

One way to keep a cat happy is to make sure they have a cat box they like. This is very important. The cat box needs to be kept clean. This is for your benefit as well as the cat’s. Our Scooter makes that abundantly clear. If the cat box has poop in it, Scooter will dance around and bug us to go out into the garage to use that cat box out there.

Each cat has its own particular habits with the cat box. Just as we can recognize which voice is meowing, we also know which cat is scraping around in the cat box. Dennis kicks gravel out of the box, like a dog that kicks dirt out of the hole when he is burying his bone. Scooter will scratch and scratch in the box for an eternity.

Playing with cats is another very interesting ordeal. They are really cute when they play. It’s like they can never figure out how the items are moving around. We know, however, the joke’s on us. They know how amused we are by all that. It’s a scheme they have to keep us connected and to keep us wanting to have them around.

Cats want your attention when you are busy. Dennis is an expert at getting attention. He has a few techniques. In one of his schemes, he gets to a spot where he knows we can see him. He looks upward. The top of a curio cabinet or on a high plant shelf is a perfect spot for him to jump. What is the goal? He wants to go into the garage. If we ignore him, he jumps up. If we continue to ignore him, he uses another attention getter — his famous jump onto the kitchen counter. He knows very well this is the worst violation he can do in our house. To the garage he goes!

Cats are brats, but when they curl up in your lap and you hear that comforting purring that says, “I’m happy in this house, and I love you,” it makes it all worth it.

Enjoy your furry friends.

— My love to all,

Nancy

• • •

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

— Hebrews 10:24