Friday, February 6, 2004
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Friday, February 6, 2004 |
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Cats are people, too By Rick Ryckeley I’m a dog person ... have been all my life. I come from a long line of dog people. My dad, he was a dog person, his father was a dog person and his father before him. So it’s no surprise that The Boy is a dog person too. Dogs are cool. No matter how long I leave my dog, he’s always happy to see me come back. Whether I take a short walk with The Wife around the corner or leave on a five-day vacation to Boston to see the Liberty Bell, when I get back home, the welcome is just the same — a lot of barking, tail-wagging and a big lick on the face — from the dog, not The Wife. Yep, man’s best friend is aptly named, and The Boy and I are definitely dog people. That is, until I got married. Four and a half years ago, I got married to The Wife. When I said, “For better or worse,” my and The Boy’s life changed forever. And, I might add, for the better. Not only did a beautiful, smart lady come into our lives, soon two small kittens came also. Now we are no longer dog people; we are cat people. Right after we got married, The Wife said she loved cats and wanted to get one. I, being the man of the house and the dog person that I am, replied, “Yes, Honey. I love cats too.” Upon hearing this, The Boy started to say something, but I gave him 20 bucks, and he went away. The next day Wife and I took a trip to the county animal shelter and picked out our two new furry friends. She picked out a solid black cat, which has turned out to be the sweetest animal I’ve ever been around. Precious purrs whenever you hold her but has only meowed five times in the last three years. I picked out a small tabby cat. We call her Brat Cat, and she hasn’t stopped yelling. My tabby cat has issues, a LOT of issues. Since becoming a cat owner, I have discovered a few things. First of all, you don’t own a cat; it owns you. Last year it seems we spent all that money on new front room furniture just so they could have a nice warm place to stretch out and go to sleep. When we’re not around, our innocent little fur balls are sleeping on the expensive dining room table we just bought. Cats climb drapes simply because they can, and a coughed-up fur ball is something you don’t really want to see. The small tabby cat that I rescued from the animal shelter, got shots for, bought special food for, and scooped the litter box every day for the last four years doesn’t want anything to do with me. The Boy does nothing for the cat, and when he walks into the room, the little fur ball goes nuts and runs over to him purring and screaming until he picks her up. Like I said, my cat has issues. The Boy does, too, but that’s a different column. The two cats are always running around fighting, but at the end of the day, they seem to make up. When it’s time for bed, they go into the office, climb up on the cat tree and put themselves to sleep. The Wife thinks it nice how they always make up at the end of the day. The Boy and I fight all the time too, but there’s no way I’m sleeping with him in any cat tree. Some other interesting things I’ve learned about cats just recently. At the mere sight of a vacuum cleaner, cats will dart away in fear immediately. If a big purple exercise ball is bounced on hardwood floors, a tabby cat will jump straight up five feet, puff up twice its normal size and hide for hours. Cats are good hunters! I know that my cat’s caught something when she looks at me innocently with her big yellow eyes while a blue tail and small foot hang out of her mouth. Yes, my cat is a lizard catcher. The black cat loves to play with spiders, crickets, and ladybugs, but mine seems to like playing with lizards. Somehow, I don’t think the lizards have nearly as much fun. If you get tired of paying that exterminator, just get a couple of cats. They’ll take care of your bug problem, plus they are more entertaining. Even scorpions are no match for a couple of well-trained attack kitty cats. Just be sure you close your bedroom door at night, or you could wake up with a big fur ball purring on your chest and a lizard dropped in your face. [Rick Ryckeley is employed by the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at saferick@bellsouth.net.] |