Memoirs of a Cat Lady

While all of the cats with whom I have shared my heart remain special to me, the other day I was reminiscing with a friend about some of the most memorable.

I felt truly blessed by my fond memories of their individual purrsonalities, loving dispositions, intelligence and sense of humor.

A black kitten small enough to fit into a shoe box was a wedding gift for my first husband and me. But as an adult, he grew into a huge and incredibly brave cat who resembled a miniature panther. With a Siamese mother and a daddy who was a traveling salesman, Nemesis may have been genetically programmed to be a protector. I will never forget his amazing courage demonstrated by his willingness to overcome his fear of the vacuum cleaner monster to keep me safe. Although his intervention to save me was a “hit and run” tactic, his instinct to protect trumped his terror. 

I adopted two adorable black and white kittens years later. A few weeks after they settled in, the two darling balls of fluff pulled a number on me that  turned my hair prematurely grey.  

I had been searching for them to no avail for several hours. Worried to death, I was in a panic, afraid that even though it was actually impossibility, somehow they had managed to escape out of the window of my uptown west side Manhattan apartment. In panic mode, I was about to make a fool out of myself by calling the fire department, begging them to come help me rescue them. What could they do that I hadn’t already tried.

I was incredibly relieved about an hour later when I caught the pair furry miscreants strolling into the living room without a care in the world. The “ungrateful” brats hadn’t a clue about what they had just put me through. Launched into a single-minded mission to find their hiding place, I behaved like an international spy. At every opportunity I followed them stealthily around the apartment. It was only after spending endless weeks of due diligence, I discovered their sanctum sanctorum quite by accident.

Looking for my shoes under the bed one afternoon, I spied two little lumps moving slowly. The rascal kittens were burrowed into my mattress lining. To be fair and also preserve their secret I never let onto them that I knew its location. My hair eventually returned to its original color.

All cat lovers always have fascinating tales about their beloved felines. Why not share one of yours in a comment.