Welcome to My Cat Blog!

 

I can't believe it took me this long to start a cat blog. Honestly, I was concentrating more on writing books, and I had a different blog dedicated to just talking about writing, books and other things that interested me. Like cats. I really love my cats. And I want to tell you stories about the cats I love. I'll start with how I met my very first pet.

I became a pet owner late in life. Growing up, my mother and sister were allergic, so no pets ever. In my youth, I never had the time, money or stability to take care of a pet. I didn't even think about what KIND of pet I wanted. It just wasn't something I desired. I didn't know what I was missing. Not until my late thirties.

I was writing a book named 'Aphrodite's War', a Paranormal Romance novel involving bored Greek gods. I think I had always planned on my main character Poetry having a cat, but actually Amir the cat proved to be an excellent plot device. He gave Poetry a chance to see Adrian again. 

Sometimes when you write characters, they take on a life all their own, as was the case with Poetry's cat, Amir. Amir developed a little personality. I was worried that, having never had a cat, maybe I wasn't writing him right. But I'd met cats before...I couldn't be too far off...It's just that....He was adorable. 

And all of a sudden, I wanted a cat. 

My husband and I had been talking about getting a dog for years, but could never agree. He wanted something midsize, for security. I wanted to be sure I wouldn't get stuck walking the dog all the time or being responsible for picking up poop all over the yard.. I was also concerned that we didn't have a fence for the front yard. 

I don't remember why, but we got a security system, which meant we didn't really need a dog. So I asked, "Can we have a cat? I really think I could love a cat." It felt like a calling, a yearning. I had love to give, and I had realized that a cat would suit our lifestyle.

I worried that I might not be a good cat mom, having no experience at all, but my husband assured me I was ready. I gleefully started reading books about cats and choosing names. 

On that day we walked up to the desk at The Humane Society and asked where we should go, what is the protocol? The woman at the desk asked, "What kind of cat are you looking for?"

I said, "We were thinking we'd let the cat choose us." She looked very pleased and directed us to the cat alcoves. 

All the cats were lovely, of course, but no one stood out, except...

"Honey, turn around." 

He was crouched in front of a tiny white cat, who meowed insistently at him. He opened his arms, and she jumped right in. She began to purr and attempted to stick her entire face in his armpit. He was on vacation at the time and had a full on Kenny Rogers beard. I think that might have been what drew her to him. His fur was the same color as hers. 

When I approached Dan said, "This is my wife, Sweetheart." and she crawled from his arms into mine, purring all the while. She stuck her face in my armpit.

But I wasn't convinced. What were the chances that the very first cat we interacted with, in the very first alcove was the cat for us? Maybe we should look at the other alcoves, just to be sure. As you may have guessed, it was completely unnecessary. 

We were playing with another cat, a cutie named 'Jack' when once again, my husband said, "Honey, turn around."

The little white cat was watching us from the window of her alcove. Her sad face broke my heart. My husband said, "I am not leaving her here." I remember saying, "Absolutely not!"

We said goodbye to Jack, who no doubt found a home soon after, because he obviously loved to play with everyone, and entered her alcove. She literally skipped over to us. Like, 'Yay! You came back!' People tell me I humanize her, but she has always been so expressive.

We had to wait. Her paperwork was taken by someone else, and they had to page kitty's number and name in case someone had first dibs. The name that they'd given her was "Kendall". Yuck! Changed that to "Freya", right away. But no one came, so I filled out the paperwork while Dan bonded with her, sitting on a plastic kindergarten chair the whole time. She got sleepy, and Dan put her in a cot, gently shooing away bigger, territorial cats that tried to kick her out. He kissed and pet her, and she gave him one sweet kiss before falling asleep. Yep. She was our cat, and I couldn't wait to bring her home. So excited! 

She cried all the way home. Dan tried to comfort her, but she yowled and fought the box. Once inside the house, we opened the box and stood back. She sprang from it just like Athena from Zeus' head! (My first thought was that maybe I'd misnamed her...) 

She looked around, clearly amazed and curious about her new surroundings. She looked askance at Dan, who said. "Yes, Sweetie. This is your new home. It's all for you. Go play."

She took off. We sat on the couch to watch TV and listen for her. After running and thumping around for about an hour, she jumped on the couch between us. She purred, she meowed and squeaked. She groomed herself and us, and rolled around in pleasure. I realized that I already loved her.

She was six months old then, and in two weeks, she'll be twelve years old. Bringing her home changed my whole life. I couldn't believe how much I loved her then, and my love grew stronger as time went on. I consider bringing her home one of the smartest and best things we've ever done. 

In my next blog, I'll tell you about our first week with her delightful self. 

I hope you enjoyed my first cat blog. I'm still working through glitches. It's been a long time since I started a brand new blog, and even then, I had help. I hope you stop by again. I'm thinking of publishing bi-weekly or so.  

For the record, these are later pictures of her. If I find the early ones, I'll publish those too.