| Kitty
passed away from old age in the spring of 2005. She lived well and
avidly at least 12 years beyond what the vet
predicted when we first rescued her. Two weeks after she left us, we
adopted another waif, pretty little Delphi, whose autobiography will
one day inherit the main page of our kitties bio section. |
That
beautiful face at the left belongs to Uther who looks like a real old
fashioned Maine Coon Cat. When Uther's family moved
away, they just left him and his sister behind. For a long time Uther
lived
under a bush here at the apartment complex. Finally I couldn't stand it
any longer because he was such a nice guy even if he was really
scruffy-looking
with his coat all full of burrs like that. So I brought him home and
let
him have some supper from my dish. Several people in the complex here
worked
on getting the burrs and dirt out of his coat. One lady even took a
chance
and gave him a bath so it would be easier for someone who had a place
for
another cat to decide to take him in. As far as charming his way into
our
family, I left that part up to him, not telling him what a softie my
human
is for a sad story. Why make it too easy. He needs to appreciate his
good
luck. Sure enough, my human was just as charmed as I am with him and
took
over his veterinary care. He sure had been neglected, but he cleaned up
really well and is now a handsome fluffy guy with no more ear mites.
His
littermate is still hiding under the bushes. We haven't been able to
get
her to trust us yet, but soon as we can persuade her to come in out of
the cold and get checked out by the vet, there's a kind human down in
the
village waiting to give her a home. Meanwhile our Uffy has made friends
with the other cats in the complex and goes to visit them and also
finds
a welcome with some of the other tennants. I think they are giving him
milk though, which my human does not approve. She says milk doesn't
agree
with cats. I have my doubts about that; milk tastes pretty good to me.
I'll take some whenever I can get it. Meanwhile, Uffy is a lot of fun
to have around. My human really really likes him.
15
September 2000:| January 23rd is Answer Your Cat's Questions Day. There is even a special animated e-greeting card for the occasion which humans can send to their friends who own cats from the Blue Mountain Arts web site at: http://www.bluemountain.com/eng3/unusual/index.html For those humans who have problems answering the questions, here are some suggested responses offered by an Experienced Cat. Why do you sleep when it's dark? - because people have their days and nights turned around backwards! If you want your person to be awake at night, you have to get him or her to sleep in the daytime. This is why it is wise to adopt a senior citizen instead of a young human, one who no longer goes out in the daytime to "work" where you haven't a chance of pursuading him/her to nap during daylight hours. Would you like some? - Don't waste your mouse. After several instances of offering tasty fur clad tidbits and being turned down most rudely by unappreciative humans, my friend Thomas and I, who hunt as a team in the cemetery where the supply of prey is limitless, have decided that humans must have some sort of genetic deficiency in the taste bud department. Why can't I go in the garbage? - This is a silly question. Don't ask! Just DO it! Will I fit in there? - The First Principle of Prowling applies here. If your whiskers will fit in there, YOU will fit in there. Please give me more food? - If you have to ASK for more food, it's time to trade in your stingy family for a new one. While you're at it, try to pick out a nice round soft human. They're not only more understanding about the food supply, but they also have really comfy cuddling spaces. How do I get down? - Why would you ask a human that question? Most of them can't even figure out how you got up there. Kitty will answer additional cats' questions on request.
Please e-mail
to Kitty Sue's Questions in care of webmarji@bright.net |
Kitty-Sue's Bio
My name is not really Kitty-Sue or even Kitty, but at least people can
pronounce it correctly. So I have gone to a good bit of trouble to
train
all the significant people in my life to call me Kitty instead of the
Tibetan
name that is on my birth certificate and instead of my Real Cat Name
which
none of them can even hear, let alone pronounce adequately.
Training of humans is easily accomplished by ignoring anything they do which is unacceptable, reacting to extremely displeasing behavior with temporary abandonment, and rewarding desirable behaviors with purrs, mooshing, and, in rare cases, lap-sitting for several minutes. This so-called behavior modification which people credit to a human named Skinner who apparently lived in a box is obviously something Skinner plagiarized from us cats.
I
live with my human in a cozy little home surrounded by green grass and
a modest flowering jungle. We do have winter here, but I would outlaw
it
if I could. Every day I check all doors and windows in our home just in
case summer might appear at one or another of them. Early in the
morning
is an especially good time to watch for summer to come up over the
eastern
horizon.
I'm not very patient with my person in the early morning. She wants to sleep. I want breakfast and fresh drinking water. After the morning tea, the cooled contents of the tea kettle is poured into a Britta pitcher. That is my drinking water -- it tastes infinitely better with the chlorine boiled away. I believe that people would be much better off if they drank boiled water too. That chlorine in the tap water can't possibly be good for them.
Once
summer has arrived, one of my major responsibilities is supervising the
livestock: squirrels, crows, butterflies, lightning bugs, mice and
voles,
ants. Especially I am fond of herding ants. They sometimes take a wrong
turn and come in under the kitchen door. So I have to run around,
gather
them all into a bunch, and herd them back out under the door again.
Cats
do not have a natural herding instinct, but I learned the technique
from
watching videos The Mama took at the sheepdog trials. My, those border
collies are intelligent (for canines). If they were gray with green
eyes,
I might consider adopting one as a pet.
I only herd ants INSIDE the house though. Outdoors I try to preserve my image. The neighbors are under the misguided impression that I am merely a house cat. Since I wish them to continue in their innocent delusion, I will occasionally go out at dusk and act like a cat, chasing lightning bugs all over the yard, leaping into the air in pursuit of the "prey", and eventually returning home wearing "the look of the hunter" as illustrated to the right.
I am pretty good at independence except for the eagles. The Mama says they are not eagles; they are red tailed hawks. But they look like eagles to me. They scream like eagles too. And I have seen them swoop down and grab small creatures from the ground. A mouse acquaintance of mine bought the farm last summer when he was caught out in the middle of the lawn far from any sheltering leaves or bushes. For that reason I stay close to the foundation of our building when the eagles are flying.
To
tell the truth, it's much safer in the house most of the time, so I
usually
don't spend a lot of time outdoors by myself. I schedule my outdoor
time
to coincide with people basking on the deck with their books or
dulcimers.
I LOVE music, especially harp or dulcimer. But the music I really like
best is when The Mama plays the bells on her keyboard. When she is
playing
I will come and pat her and meow. She understands that I mean, "Bells!
Play the bells now!" When she does I lie down on the floor and stretch
out as long as I can be so I can feel the sound of the bells through
the
floor. She thinks "The Bells of St. Mary's" is my favorite song.
Actually
any song played on the bells is my favorite. When the church bells ring
at five o'clock in the summer, I stretch out on the wooden boards of
the
deck and enjoy their music. I wonder if the person who plays the
carillon
knows that one of their biggest fans is a cat.
Repurposing the household furniture is something that all us cats have
learned to do since we don't usually have any furniture of our own. For
instance, my people think bookcases are to keep books in and put lamps
on top of. It took me quite a while to remove all the stuff from the
top
of this one, but finally they got the idea that anything that they put
up here in MY place would go on the floor whenever I want to take a
nap.
We finally compromised on the lamp, but it's scrunched up in the corner
now instead of being symmetrically arranged in the middle of my nap
spot.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, March 1, 2006