Right now, my roommate and I lay claim to six cats. Two live exclusively outside and freak out at the very idea of being indoors. One of them is semi-indoor/semi-outdoor. How much time she spends outside depends on the weather and her general health. Three live inside . . . most of the time. One of them got out a few years ago and stayed outside for a few days. Eventually we got her back in the house. To date, she's never completely regained her sanity.
I picked out none of these cats. The tuxedo cat was with my roommate and his former roommate when I moved in. Salem (who has no clue that Salem is his name and answers to Fluffy) came with a brother, Julian. Julian looked a lot like Salem, but his coat was sleeker. He died several years ago. He is still missed. Fluffy, as the name implies, is not smart. He loves to be brushed and will often rub himself on the brush when it's not being used on him. He has a nice series of noises and recently decided he had to sit by me all the time. He loves yogurt, tuna, and french fries.
Around the time I moved in, we acquired Rowan and Rhiannon, the little white and gray kitties. The white one was so small she didn't even know how to eat solid food yet. The gray one taught her to eat and to use the liter box. In the early days, the white one would always cry out for her sister to stand near her when she used it. The gray one would always go to her, though I don't think she was quite happy about it. These days, Rowan is flirty, jealous, and stubborn. She's one of the smarter cats in the house. Rhiannan is the one who got outside for a while. As I said, she's crazy. She's also very sweet when she wants to be.
When we moved into Gran's house, Ruffian (orange), Tink (Siamese gray), and the little brown cat Alice came into our lives. Tink and Alice were neglected cats from a neighbor. They were both fixed and named, but the neighbor never allowed them in the house and never fed them. We have no idea where Ruffian came from. Tink is the most skittish. She lets my roommate pet her and brush on her. Sometimes he is allowed to hold her, but not always. Ruffian will let anyone hold him. He's not so bright and really loves attention.
Alice has a lot of physical issues. She has never grown and undercoat and only somewhat grows any fur at all. Her legs are a bit twisted and she has some problems with her eyes. There are some strange patches of skin on her as well. When many people see Alice, they think she's ugly. My roommate and I find her to be beautiful. She has a very intense personality and makes a lot of noises. She is a fierce hunter and fighter. She has a thing against cats with black tails (although she never goes after Fluffy. Then again, she may think he's a mop).
Rowan and Rhiannon are allergic to fleas and scratch bald spots into their fur during flea season. Because they lose some fur, we jokingly refer to them and Alice as The Three Bald Sisters. We're quite sure everyone involved is offended. We also tell Fluffy that Alice is his sister, an idea he is not too keen on.
When you have cats, you have to learn to deal with some disgusting things. I don't just mean the litter box. Okay, that is disgusting, but it's contained and as long as you clean it daily, it's manageable. Less manageable is cat puke. Cat puke is pretty revolting. The worst part about it, at least where our cats are concerned, is that they seem to have no concept of places they shouldn't puke. One time, Rowan puked on my foot. I can't even describe how shockingly nasty that was.
Some habits aren't really disgusting, just annoying. No one likes waking up to a cat digging her claws into you as she kneads. No one likes listening to cats howl for hours on end. Certainly, no one likes listening to cat fights.
Still, we love them, even with all their strange little habits and craziness. Cats enrich our lives and give us something to sing about. Yes, we make up songs about the cats. They give me lots of fodder for drawing and bring a smile to my face . . . when they're not clawing up my hands.
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