The New Cat

Buck asked after our new cat, suggesting I write about her. And I realized that I haven't said a peep about her since she was rescued and became a part of our family.

• The chief concern, of course, was how she would get along with The Dog, especially given how much Phoebe (may she rest in peace) hated him. But to Phoebe (may she rest in peace)The Dog was an interloper. She was there first and his skittering, furry black puppy presence was not appreciated. Not ever. This time around, it's The Dog who is alpha and Kitty had to accept her place in the pack and she is just fine with The Dog, so long as he doesn't pull one of his, "Oh, yeah, I'm The Dog, I was here first and I feel like barking at you" things. Because if he does that and gets in her face she swipes at his nose with her very sharp claws. But then he doesn't usually do that again for a while.

• She likes to hunt. Well, at least, she really enjoys pouncing. You will be walking around, la la la la la, going about your business and all a sudden she will leap out at you and try and grab your legs. It's very disconcerting. And, as I mentioned, she has very sharp little claws.

• She sleeps with us. And The Dog. And quite companionably, too. Although last night she must have done something to disturb The Dog because he started snarling at her. I think it is because she walked over his head to get at my bedside water glass. Which, btw, eeeewww.

• She is way more people oriented and friendly than Phoebe (may she rest in peace), who was so unsociable that many of our friends didn't even know we had a cat. This one is quite the opposite. She prefers to sit on a lap or perch on a shoulder and generally be in the room where the most people are. It's quite sweet.

• She also likes to lick people. Like a dog. Once she perches on you and you start petting her she licks you. She especially likes to lick heads. The Child believes this has to do with the litter that she never brought to term and her deep desire to be a mommy even though she never will be now because she had The Procedure. I think it's because we taste like meat. But it is very funny because one thinks of cats as licking for grooming. That we have one who does it to show affection cracks me up. (Unless I'm right about the meat thing).

• We intended to keep her as an inside-only cat but she's having none of it. She likes to roam. She comes over to The Neighbor's every night at cocktail hour, which is amusing. She likes to poke around the garden and climb the fence. I don't know how much farther she's gone than The Neighbor's but she comes back so I guess it's ok. I certainly don't mind the whole not-having-a-litter-box-in-the-house thing. BUT I also don't like it because we have coyotes around here and they like to eat cats. So I worry about that. Unless she mistakes them for dogs, swipes their noses with her very sharp claws and gets away in time. Mostly, I try not to think of it and take a que sera attitude about it. Although it would totally suck if she didn't outrun the coyotes. (And I do wish the city would do something about it because it's a little scary to think of these pack animals roaming the streets eating pets. I worry that they'll eat someone's baby). But she's a cat and her catness cannot be stifled. So I just pray to St. Francis a lot.
  

• The Cat likes to sleep in very small spaces. She once curled up in a soup plate. She enjoys the basket that contains the TV remotes. The smaller the space, the better. It's quite amusing.

• She likes to explore. She's fascinated with the dishwasher.

In short, we like her very much. For those of us with a cat inclination, a home really isn't a home without one.