We first met when Kitty Cat was just an itty-bitty thing. She was about the size of my hand. She had been living under cars and eating whatever she caught, but still too young to be completely feral. She walked over to me and with a very soft meow, rubbed against my leg. I am not a cat person. They make me itch. For some reason, I did not start itching. I picked her up and looked into that beautiful little, heart shaped face and those big green eyes, and that was it. She needed me.
I do not know how old Bubba is. He came to me after being thrown out of a car and left on the side of the road. He was covered in blood and scabs. Some idiot tried to fight him with another dog. With a lot of love and attention, he is now the gentlest dog I have ever had. Everyone that sees him comments on how beautiful he is, even though he still has those scars.
I was not too sure how Bubba would react to a cat. He has a history of wanting to chase them. I brought her into the house, and held her up to meet him. I knew he would not try to attack since I was holding her. He sniffed, then turned away to gnaw again on his bone.
Kitty had been in the house for three days when the following happened. A neighbor's dog, Sparky, would occasionally come to visit us. Sparky is a Rat Terrier. He would scratch at my front door and I would open it for him to come in. He would then come to me to be petted, go to Bubba to say hello, walk around to check out everything, then after about 10 minutes, would go to the front door to leave.
That day, I heard the scratching on the front door and opened it for Sparky to come in. I did not know there was another dog with Sparky. One I had never seen before. I opened the door for Sparky to come in and Kitty Cat ran out. The strange dog went after her. Bubba, who had been lying there quietly, almost knocked me over when he went after the other dog. There was a very brief skirmish and the other dog quickly ran away. Bubba went over to where Kitty Cat was cowering, sniffed her to make sure she was ok, then walked back into the house.
From that day forward, Kitty Cat and Bubba have been buddies. When I have him on a leash, and she is also outside, she walks over to him, rubs against him, then stands under him daring anyone and anything to come near them. When I take him for our morning trek, she follows us. It is very strange to see a cat following a dog. Anyone seeing this has to stop and comment at this strange sight.
Kitty Cat is a lot bigger now. At night, when I go to sleep, she will sit on my bedroom window sill and watchs to make sure nothing is going to disturb me. Then she waits for me to fall asleep. When I wake up in the morning, she is usually curled next to me. When I let her out in the morning, she walks around the house, and hunts anything that might be moving. This is her home and she does not tolerate anything else to live in her and Bubba's territory. It does not matter - lizards, snakes, mice or possums. If it moves, it is fair game. Other cats use to come here, but she has her confidence now. After a few skirmishes, some high up in trees, they stopped coming into her territory and give her a wide berth when they see her outside.
Our routine is simple. I let her out in the morning. When it gets too hot, I call her. She runs to the front door and waits for me to open it. Then she either waits for me to pick her up or runs and leaps onto the coffee table waiting for her daily treat. After that, she will go to her food dish and leisurely have 'lunch'. She will spend the rest of the day next to me, either sitting on my keyboard waiting for me to pet her, or lying next to me, whatever I am doing.
To anyone that does not have a 'pet', you have no idea what you are missing. Yes, dogs have to be walked. Yes, cats have to have a litter box for those days when they cannot go outside. It does not matter, because all the love and attention you give them is returned to you ten fold. Pets are not possessions. They are very loyal, loving friends.
Most people have a lot of stress in their lives and have no idea how to relieve it. My suggestion is to get a pet. I do not care how busy your day is, you can always find time to spend with your pet. The love and loyalty your pet will give in return is immeasurable.
athena_louise
No comments:
Post a Comment