Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Slice of Life: My Three Cats

https://twowritingteachers.org/
Two weeks ago, I had my students begin their Writing Territories list for the spring semester. I wrote with them, and one of the topics I jotted down pertained to my three cats. This post is for them.

(Umm... you have to play the theme music as you read! haha)



Kitty one is Cleopatra Jones Bridges-McCabe. Cleo for short. At five years old, Cleo is the big sister who keeps the order but isn't afraid to put the others in their places. She's not always the first one to come eat, but she never starts eating from her plate first -- always nibbles on the others' before taking a bite from her own plate. And she KNOWS exactly what she's doing! She only lets you love on her if you are on the toilet, or if she deems you worthy of her. You have to scratch inside her ear (with your knuckle), while she pretends she's pulling away. If you stop, she's right back in your face. When she's finished with
the touchy-feely, she jumps down and licks her left paw as if to say, "You'll never tame me! I don't need your love!" As a kitten, she came running when you told her it was bedtime; this continues today. She loves to sleep at my daughter's head, top of her pillow. She's my favorite.


Kitty two is Grace Kung-Pao-Chicken Bridges-McCabe. Nicknamed "Gracie" because my husband and daughter think it's cute, she's the four-year-old middle child. To know Grace, you have to know the meaning behind her name. When my husband brought her home, the foster family called her Fanny. It was like the family hadn't even listened for the kitten to tell her name! I watched her all day as she jumped and climbed and explored. In the early afternoon of that first day as I sat in front of the TV, the kitten jumped on top of the stand where I have photos, candles, and knick-knacks. CRAAASSSHHHH! Down came most of those items! "Good grief, cat, you have no gracefulness, do you?" shot out of my mouth while I picked up the mess. Soon as I said it, the kitten came over and butted my hand. There it was -- her name! Grace, like her middle name, is both sweet and sour. When she wants you, she doesn't care if it's convenient for you. She just shoves aside your arm, or gets on top of your papers, or butts you in the face. And then the kneading starts. I can never get her to the vet quick enough to get her paws trimmed, so my arms, stomach, and thighs are riddled with scratch marks. She purrs like a rumbling train and is so soft that you just want to snuggle her. She'll let you. Until you cough, and she digs her claws into you, jumping away.

Kitty three is Jasper Nugget Bridges-McCabe. He's the baby, and man, does he act like it! He's only two but is bigger than both the girls. My daughter saved him from the pound when a co-worker said she couldn't take care of him (the prego mom had shown up on her porch, had the kittens, and then left them). I nicknamed him Mr. Fluffernutter because he's cuddly and soft and chunky. He's one of those cats you just want to carry around with you all day because they make you smile and keep you warm. He loves getting water from the toilet. Yes. Like a dog! His BFF is my dog, Bella. The girls were not nice to Jasper for the first two months he was home. And Bella doesn't know how to say no, so they played together all the time. One of my favorite stories happened about three weeks after we brought that baby home. My daughter and I came in from shopping and couldn't find Jasper anywhere. The girls sat in opposite corners of the living room looking guilty as I called his name. Bella kept beating her tail against the floor. After calling and looking for about fifteen minutes, my daughter turned to Bella and said, "Bella, where's Jasper?" Dern it if Bella didn't go straight to the couch and start sniffing around. We were baffled - how could a kitten be INSIDE a couch? We had to literally turn the couch upside down because the ding-dong had found a hole in the lining and gotten stuck inside! He now spends his time hanging with my husband in the garage all day (hubby works from home), and is the only cat to understand that the Kev-man needs a
cuddle-
kitty!

Bella has the same face every time Jasper comes to sleep....it's the face that says, "Fine. I'll be his friend!" haha...



So...this is my story of my three quirky kitties. I just sneezed and scared Grace, and now I need to go find a band-aid!

Til next week!
#ItsGoodToBeBackSlicing

1 comment:

  1. I love cat stories! Jasper coming to snuggle with the dog is hilarious. She really does have this "oh all right if I have to" long suffering look on her face. I've got 7 cats and I do love slicing about them.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for the comment.
:-)