13 Cats Who Have Owned Me

There are those who raise their eyebrows when I insist that each of my cats had a distinctive personality. But it's true. Their stories are varied too. Check them out.

1. Fuddy
   I was only 5 and loved him dearly. My parents weren't nearly as fond, due to some undesirable potty habits. He disappeared the day after he left a deposit in the middle of my parents' bed. I was an adult before it dawned on me that this wasn't a coincidence.
   
   
2. Muffy
   This darling white long-hair had one blue eye and one green one. He was fearless around water and let me push him around our farm pond on a small wooden raft.
   
   
3. Victoria
   My first cat as an adult. Her previous family evicted her because they feared that a cat would lay on their new baby and smother it. She had a queenly bearing and a mellow personality. Victoria contentedly shared her water and litter box with my daughter's rabbit.
   
   
4. Uncle Fluff
   A feral cat about 8 months old. Really too old to tame, he put some severe scratches into my tenacious 12 year old's arm when she captured him. He had been hiding in a pile of bright orange leaves. Guess his mother never told him that black fur was not a great camouflage color. About 2 hours after he was brought into the house, he decided he had lucked into the good life and became one of the sweetest and wimpiest cats I've ever known.
   
   
5. Pancake
   One of the few cats I've known that didn't look a bit pretty. She had lost one eye in an accident and had a fair amount of weight that she didn't wear at all well. (She has my deep sympathy.) Her previous owner claimed he needed a foster family, while he was in California for a month. Did you guess? He never returned. I've been trying to think of some of her redeeming qualities. I'll let you know if anything occurs.
   
   
6. Louis
   When this orange tabby arrived at the age of 5 weeks, he was too small to climb the stairs to our bedroom. I couldn't think of letting him sit at the bottom of the stairs meowing piteously. So I would carry him upstairs at bedtime. When he was fully grown, he would race up and down the stairs as often as he pleased. Except at bedtime. When he was 5 years old, I was still carrying him up the stairs to sleep.
   
   
7. Tica
   My daughter's childhood cat. She came from a shelter and kept the name that she had been given. She was a smart cat who had obviously been taught a number of tricks. Except for her dainty size, she resembled a Maine Coon cat. Many years later, I learned that TICA is also the name of a prominent cat association which recognizes a number of champion cat breeds, including the Maine Coon.
   
   
8. Dubbie
   This feral kitten was born outside before spring had arrived. His mother took advantage of a rust hole in the bottom of my car to provide him with some shelter at night. One day I had to leave home earlier than usual. I never realized that he was in my car until hunger drove him out that afternoon. He was estimated to be about 2 weeks old. We cared for him and he grew to be a big 20+ pound cat. He had the most winning personality of any cat I have ever known. Everyone who met him fell in love with him.
   
   
9. Wee Will
   Short for Wee Willie Winkie due to the permanent wink caused by the loss of an eye. A friend rescued him from a sidewalk where he had laid in the summer sun for several days after children poked his eye out with a stick. My friend's dog wouldn't permit a kitten, but she took Will to the vet and paid for all his care. How could I refuse when she asked me to take him in? The vet said he would have difficulty walking stairs due to perceptual problems from the eye loss. Guess he forgot to tell Will, who traversed them faster than any other cat.
   
   
10. Tele
    Short for Telecommunications. Should have been short for telekinetic. She could race for prolonged periods at a truly abnormal speed. She has the distinction of being the only cat I've known who removed every ornament from the Christmas tree, but never played with a single one. She'd knock one down and move on to the next.
    
    
11. Abby
    One of our three current cats. Abby came from a pet rescue group and had none of the attributes we had decided we wanted in our next cat. Regardless, I instantly fell in love with this dainty silver cat who loves to gently nibble on my finger tip.
    
    
12. Lucyfur
    Left in a box on a vet's doorstep when she was just a few weeks old, this little calico nearly didn't live. We're happy that she did, especially my daughter who claims this attitude filled cat as her special pet.
    
    
13. Clarkie
    Lucyfur's brother was my mother's favorite while she lived with us. After her death, my granddaughter adopted this big orange cat as her own special “squishy” friend. I regret to say that he shares some of Fuddy's behaviors. But he's not disappearing.

No, that's not a complete list of my cats. But sufficient for one Thursday.

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