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taxladyMany moons ago I had a cat. He had seven toes on each of his front feet - sort of built in snow shoes. Since there were feathers (long tufts of fur) between all of those toes, one could say he had "winged feet", so, he was given the name Perseus. His fur was that lovely colour of grey that is called blue. I spoke with his previous apes.They had put him out on the street at the age of nine months for spraying in the house. His sister was in heat and it was a first offence. The particular street onto which he was put, was inhabited by Scarface. Scarface was the toughest, meanest cat I ever met. Needless to say, Perseus was trying very hard to find a new home. G, a very close friend at the time (my now ex-husband) let him move in. Perseus was so pleased to have a home again, that he absolutely did not want to go outside. Outside was wet and cold and hungry and there was (drum roll) Scarface. He was absolutely not going to spray or do anything else that would endanger this new domestic arrangement.
When G and I decided to share an apartment, I already had two kittens, so we now had 3 feline roommates. Musmus, the female kitten, got all the brains in the family. Henry, the male kitten, was soon renamed Dumbshit, because, well, he was. The kittens' mother was very sweet, but really quite stupid. She never taught her kittens to use the cat box. Perseus took it upon himself to teach them. He was very finicky. It took him approximately two days to teach Musmus to cover up what she left in the box. It took Perseus a year to teach it to Dumbshit. One year of beating him up every single time he didn't cover it up. He also did a good job of training me to keep the box clean.
Perseus was not a cuddly cat. However, if I was feeling down or ill and a cat cuddle would make me feel better, Perseus was right there. He would cuddle and even act like he liked it. He was turning into quite the personality and it was becoming obvious that this was one smart cat.
G would often get up at night to make himself a snack. He would do this in a state of not-really-awake. One night he was getting a snack and standing at the kitchen counter thinking that he was forgetting something. He ran through the list: plate, knife, bread, honey, tahini, blue feet. Huh? Blue feet? And at that instant, Perseus flew off the kitchen counter. Cats were not allowed on the kitchen counter and knew it. But, Perseus had figured it out. If he just sat still enough, G wouldn't see him. We have often wondered how many times he got away with that.
On another occassion, I caught Perseus on the counter. I picked him up, shook him, yelled at him, and threw him on the floor. I fully expected him to flee with a scrabble of claws slipping on the floor. But, he calmly picked himself up, strolled slowly until he was out of reach, and then turned to look at me. The look said, "Just because you lost your cool lady, doesn't mean I have to lose mine." Yes, this cat was definitely Mr. Cool.
Another time, I did something he didn't like. I cannot remember what it was, but I knew at the time. Not long after, he jumped in my lap and acted like he wanted to cuddle. All my suspicion alerts came on. But, Perseus stayed on my lap and rubbed his head against me and did all the other things that a cuddly cat would do, until I forgot my suspcions. Then... he calmly turned his head, bit my nipple with one big chomp, and ran like hell. Little bugger, he planned his revenge.
He was great company. He was a great, if sneaky, cat and probably the smartest cat I ever met. He was great friends with Musmus. I enjoy visiting my memories of him.
When G and I decided to share an apartment, I already had two kittens, so we now had 3 feline roommates. Musmus, the female kitten, got all the brains in the family. Henry, the male kitten, was soon renamed Dumbshit, because, well, he was. The kittens' mother was very sweet, but really quite stupid. She never taught her kittens to use the cat box. Perseus took it upon himself to teach them. He was very finicky. It took him approximately two days to teach Musmus to cover up what she left in the box. It took Perseus a year to teach it to Dumbshit. One year of beating him up every single time he didn't cover it up. He also did a good job of training me to keep the box clean.
Perseus was not a cuddly cat. However, if I was feeling down or ill and a cat cuddle would make me feel better, Perseus was right there. He would cuddle and even act like he liked it. He was turning into quite the personality and it was becoming obvious that this was one smart cat.
G would often get up at night to make himself a snack. He would do this in a state of not-really-awake. One night he was getting a snack and standing at the kitchen counter thinking that he was forgetting something. He ran through the list: plate, knife, bread, honey, tahini, blue feet. Huh? Blue feet? And at that instant, Perseus flew off the kitchen counter. Cats were not allowed on the kitchen counter and knew it. But, Perseus had figured it out. If he just sat still enough, G wouldn't see him. We have often wondered how many times he got away with that.
On another occassion, I caught Perseus on the counter. I picked him up, shook him, yelled at him, and threw him on the floor. I fully expected him to flee with a scrabble of claws slipping on the floor. But, he calmly picked himself up, strolled slowly until he was out of reach, and then turned to look at me. The look said, "Just because you lost your cool lady, doesn't mean I have to lose mine." Yes, this cat was definitely Mr. Cool.
Another time, I did something he didn't like. I cannot remember what it was, but I knew at the time. Not long after, he jumped in my lap and acted like he wanted to cuddle. All my suspicion alerts came on. But, Perseus stayed on my lap and rubbed his head against me and did all the other things that a cuddly cat would do, until I forgot my suspcions. Then... he calmly turned his head, bit my nipple with one big chomp, and ran like hell. Little bugger, he planned his revenge.
He was great company. He was a great, if sneaky, cat and probably the smartest cat I ever met. He was great friends with Musmus. I enjoy visiting my memories of him.
