Cat lover. Who Me?

I've always thought of myself as a dog person. I shared the same birthday as our family dog. I grew up with a story of her finding me lost in the corn field next to our house and leading me home when I was three years old. I always wanted my own dog more than I ever wanted children (although I think kids are great dogs just seemed more appealing to me). I even used to want to be a dog. So it has come as a surprise to me that I am now someone who likes cats so much.

I think it started last fall when Leslie brought Mara here to live. She is an extremely affectionate cat. When I watch TV or am reading on the couch she climbs up on top of me and lays her head on my shoulder and falls asleep. What really entrenched things however was when Leslie brought home Mouffette one night, last November, from the Bayview Animal Hospital. She was the last of a litter and had no home. Leslie called me and asked if it would be okay to bring a kitten home. I thought about it for a second and said sure. Little did I know how attached we would grow. As a kitten she let me carry her around on my shoulder like a pirate carries a parrot. Now that she is almost full grown she still lets me do this. In fact she wants me to do this as she seems to love the view from up there.

She's very bright and seems to have learned a mix of dog and cat behaviours from living with one of each. In fact she and Luna will compete in begging for food at the table. When she was a kitten she even growled once. One of her favourite games is a kind of one player hockey that uses a three legged plastic pizza table instead of a puck. Tonight she slapped that thing around the kitchen floor for so long I finally had to take it away from her. Anyway somehow I'm the 'daddy' to this sweet cat. Never saw it coming.