The Cat

I feel like our cat may be getting the short end of the stick on my blog. And while there's a few excellent reasons for this (she's mean, she's ugly, and I generally try to pretend she doesn't exist) she is an entertaining blog subject. I got her for Danny when she was 5 weeks old from a box of kittens someone left in the parking lot at my work. When I heard there were kittens available, I went into the medical records room and found everyone cooing over an adorable kitty. I picked up a blue eyed, white and black spotted cat that licked me and mewed soft nothings into my ear. I was all ready to take this little bundle of lovey fuzz home when I heard "they've all be claimed. Except the one in the box" at which point I hear a slightly scary ripping noise- and a bat-eared orange striped/black spotted cat climbed it's way to the top of the box and said "meerrrrrrooooowww".

This was Catsby.

I exaggerate when I say she is ugly. She's unique looking. She is primarily a tortoiseshell pattern, but with some patches of tabby thrown in. I think mama-kitty got around a bit, because Catsby also has the tone and vocabulary of a Siamese. She's quite the conversationalist, especially at 4 in the morning when she decides it's time to play.

She is not affectionate. She does not curl up in your lap on cold evenings and purr while you stroke her ears. Periodically she will get close enough for you to scratch behind her ears for a couple of minutes before she gets bored and bites you. That's her thing- biting. Sometimes she'll come up and bite you for no reason. Sometimes she'll roll on her back and expose her yummy furry soft tummy, and then lures you in close enough to bite you. She doesn't break the skin, but it's annoying. She also likes coming up behind me when I'm sitting on the couch and fighting with my ponytail or eating my hair. Yes, eating my hair. While it's attached to my head. Catsby and Hiccup get along pretty well. Meaning, Catsby sneaks up while Hiccup is sleeping and tries to bite his jugular. Fortunately he has amazingly thick fur so he usually doesn't even notice. Sometimes they chase each other from room to room and Catsby's tail gets all poofy. Before he was neutered he tried to hump her a few times, but you can just imagine how that went over.


But Danny always wanted a cat, and she would have been yet another homeless cat wandering around South Tucson if I hadn't taken her. And it's kind of fun coming out of a room and encountering a creature crouching on the floor, waiting patiently to pounce on you. It's a miniature "Wild Kingdom" with her around.