Saturday, June 30, 2007

My New Royal Family

For a while now, my mom has been talking about getting a cat. I've never really known her to be a cat person, but her good friend Jinna started a cat rescue (called Purrfect Paws) a few years ago, and after several years of prodding from Jinna, Mom finally decided to adopt. On Sunday, she went to the rescue in Manhattan and brought home not one, but TWO cats!

Mom and Cliff had gone to Purrfect Paws with the intention of picking up Kingston, a cat Jinna had matched Mom up with months ago. However, when they got there, they also met Princess Patches, who was apparently a good friend of Kingston's. Cliff suggested that they should take Princess home as well since the kitties liked each other so much, and Mom agreed, although she sounded a little unsure about the decision when she called and left me a message later that evening! Kingston is a pretty young cat--only about 16 months old--but mom says he's very calm. She has no idea how old Princess is because she forgot to ask and never planned on taking her home in the first place.

While I know that cats aren't nearly as time consuming as dogs, I still worry that my mother has bitten off more than she can chew. Since she is still commuting from Topeka to Emporia State almost every day, she is generally very tired (who wouldn't be?) and doesn't have a lot of spare time on her hands!

Honestly, while I'm trying to get excited about the new family additions, I'm not really a cat person at all. I try to like them, but inevitably, as soon as I start holding or petting a cat, they turn around and bite me. I don't like it so much. Cat owners tell me that's normal, but I can't quite see how that behavior is appealing in a pet. It also frustrates me that you can't really train a cat to stay off of the furniture and countertops. At our friends Bill and Lindsay's last weekend, their cat Harry jumped on the kitchen counter like 5 times trying to get the pizza that was sitting there! He didn't really care how many times he got yelled at and thrown off (and he didn't really care that it hurt when he bit me later in the evening!).

Despite the fact that I'm obviously not a cat person, I'm definitely going to give my new feline "siblings" (they are my mom's kids, you know) a chance. Hopefully soon I can get over to Topeka to visit the pair--I'm looking forward to meeting them (and hopefully liking them) and taking some pictures!

4 comments:

Erin said...

Good for your mom and Cliff! I can't imagine not having a cat in the house. You just have to learn how to pet them and they won't bite you! :) Can't wait to see pics of them!!!

Anonymous said...

Hello, this is the mom speaking. I have moments wondering what I have done. But you know as a kid I had cats around all the time. And I liked them. I have a picture of me around 4th grade...I'm holding two cats and 1 around my feet. I just never had them in the house. Mother never liked cats at all...for some of the reasons you don't like them either. She especially hated them when they happily rubbed on her feet and legs while she was trying to walk. We even had a cat that acted like a hunting dog and went with dad when he was hunting. Her name was Patches..interesting. It all weakened here when C and I were talking about how much we missed Ginger. When I talked with Jinna a few times I decided it would be easier than for us to have another dog...You are right though...they have no respect for rules. =) My man reason for never having a cat before is because of Eric's allergies. I still feel guilty, but I sort of had an old age slip of some sort. Meanwhile, for the most part I am having fun with these furry friends and keep hoping Celtic and Hope and the cats will feel comfortable sometime. I suppose it is a fat chance. Erin I may have to e-mail you for some advice. Kingston the male is now no
longer Princess Patches best friend. He gets very jealous when I am playing with her. Well it is time for me to hit the sack. Kim I loved your discourse about them and
my new and strange behavior...Thanks for all the support even when I knew you really weren't too sure...I'll take some pictures, and keep you posted...Love mom and Princess P and of course Kingston

Erin said...

Sherry, you can email me any time! I've lived with cats all my life and would have more of them if my husband would let me. Good luck with them! After time the two will be best buddies again.

Brenda said...

Congrats on the kitties. They'll need time to adjust. I'll pass on any words of wisdom to Kim.
Brenda