This cat (MIA) we have today, has come with her own baggage. Personality, well she has one that is sure. Her middle name could be "brush". She has such long fur, and plenty of it that we have to keep her brushed. If we forget, not a problem, she lets us know. I will try and put some pictures up so you can see. What I really had in mind was some of the other pets we have had over the years.
When I was pre-teen we had a cat named Butch. He was a black and white pursian - a real beauty. He was an out door cat mostly, but he loved to ride in cars. That is how we lost him. We took a ride out to one of my Dads' friends who raised pheasants. Butch hitched a ride, the only problem was when he got out of the car, he either got scared, or lost. Call, after call brought no sign of him. In fact the people said they didn't see him around their place. We were all pretty upset over that. He would meet Dad every night when he would come home just so Dad would pick him up by the tail and bring him into the house. It was their time. He would just hang there as Dad walked up the walk and into the house. When Dad would let go of his tail he would run to his food and eat.
We had another cat, I don't remember its name, but it was really odd. One day Mom was cutting up a cantalope for dinner when that cat went crazy. It yowled and ran around the kitchen, then try and stretch up against the cabinets to see what Mom was doing. After she had finished cutting up the cantelope she put it in the Fridge to be cold for our dinner. Next thing we knew the cat was in the sink eating the rinds. It was like the mellon was catnip to that darn cat.
Everytime after that when we had a cantalope there was always some cut up and put in the cats dish for it to enjoy.
Dad would never let us have a dog because he said they would dig up his plants. Dad was quite a gardener. I thought having a dog would be so much fun, but after having a few I didn't believe that anymore. What with cleaning up after them. I didn't have to do that with the cats.
When we lived in Anaheim we had a six toed cat we named "smokey" because of its color. It was a good cat. Someone poisoned it - sad to say. The neat thing about "smokey" was Jay built a tall scratch pole with multi levels of purches. The cat would run and grab onto the carpet Jay had covered it with and climb to the top purch and watch us. I bought a catnip mouse one day and it became the source of a great many hours of play. I would put it on the top purch with just a small part of the nose sticking over the edge. When "smokey" would be in the living room I would ask: "where is that mouse"? "smokey would look up on the purch and if the mouse was there she would hit that pole and be up to the top in a flash - then the mouse was thrown from the purch just as far as she could toss it with her mouth, or slap it with a huge paw. Apparently nothing was to be on that pole but her.
We had a number of six toed cats over the year. They were a lot of fun to watch play. Good pets as well. The last few we had we got from the Nelson Family while we lived in Taft. They had a Mama cat that always seemed to have an ample supply of kittens who needed homes.
I believe one of the best pets Paul ever had was a long haired Chuahua (sp). We had a friend named Dean Bixby. They had pedigrees they bred for puppies to sell. Jay and Paul use to Home Teach there and Paul worked for Dean as a helper in his Janitorial Service. Anyway Paul had just loved playing with the little dogs and was so good with them. One litter had this darling little brown and white pup that looked very much like a collie - like Lassie - One day Dean called and asked if Paul could come over after school. So when Paul go home I told him Dean wanted to see him. He hopped on his bike and rode over the few blocks to see what Dean wanted. A short time later he came riding up in the driveway holding this little Pedigre Pup, no bigger than a handful of fluff. She was so small we kept her on the sofa for about a week just to make sure we didn't step on her. She would just set there and watch us. We had a hard time naming her, but finally came up with a name the registry would accept. "Pauls Pride". We called her "Sissy". Well I called her "Tidder Babe". Every time Paul would take her over to Deans she would latch on to her mother for a snack. I think she was nearly the best pet we ever had. We took her with us to the River. It was hot out on that desert, so when we were in the car she would lay on the seat between Jay and I on a wet towel and a wet one over her. A little air conditioned space just for her. She loved going with us. If we went someplace we couldn't take her we would put her in a kennel. She rarely barked at home, but at the kennel she was a regular watch dog. She let them know when anyone was coming. One time she barked so much she lost her voice. It took her quite awhile before it came back.
Then when we were "empty nesters" Paul brought us a border collie we named "mitzi". She was Jays dog from day one. She would go everywhere Jay would take her. Saturdays were her favorite day of the week. Jay would take her with him when he went to work on the truck. He would stop at the donut shop and get her a chocolate donut on their way to work. She would set in the riders seat and be as proud as she could be. In fact when we traveled, I never got to ride in that seat. She would hop in and I would have to ride in the back seat. She was Daddies Girl.
At night she would lay beside Jay in his LazyBoy chair. They were buddies. Once we learned her ways, she was a great watch dog. She never barked if there was trouble. She would do a very quiet low growl. It sounded like she was trying to say something. We knew when she did that we needed to be watchful, something wasn't right.
Paul brought us another dog we named "muffy". She was a smaller collie than "mitzi". They were a pair. Jay didn't take her with him like he did "mitzi". Both dogs were great with the Grand Children. Mitzi particularly would herd them around. She wouldn't let them wonder off the patio. I never understood that. She seemed to think the Yard was hers. One funny thing
"mitzi" did - she buried a large chunk of ice. It was hot and she was panting, so Jay had a piece of ice and put it in her water dish. She was apparently attracted to it, she spent a great deal of effort and time getting it out of the dish and to a spot where she quickly dug a hole and buried it. We watched the whole thing and laughed when she had finished the job. We hoped she didn't want it later. I don't recall her trying to dig in that spot again.
I think everyone should have a pet. Especially when they are young and particularly when they are old. They are a source of comfort and great enjoyment. We have been blessed with a number that the children enjoyed, and some we have in our home for a long period of time. It is always sad when they are lost, stolen or get old. A good home makes sure an animal is kept with care and not allowed to suffer.
Written this 30th day of June 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg
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