Not Exactly A Cuddly Kitten

When I married Ja, being a thoughtful person, I informed him that I was not ever wanting pets. I simply was not a pet person, and have witnessed many times where the wife/mother ended up taking care of every living, and sometimes dead creature that finds its way under her roof. So, I thought that if I nipped it in the bud, this would not happen to yours truly.

It worked for a while. Ja grew up with cats, and I grew up in a family that hated cats. Can you already see the irony of it all?

We lived in a couple apartments in southern Oregon for the first couple years of our marriage; one of those being an apartment/dump that included cockroaches in the rent...which proves exactly what I said above...I took care of those 'from-the-devil-monsters'. Ja's moto for that time period was, 'if it don't bite, it's alright.' Not exactly the same as my moto...'get me out of here!'

We moved back up to the Portland area after a while and lived in the country for a bit. While cleaning out the house we were moving into, I found mouse poop in the cupboards, this changed my idea about pets...I allowed Ja to get a cat.

Someone from our church had a couple kittens left. A male and a female. They told me they would bring them down to the church for me to chose which one I wanted...great...who the heck can say no to a kitten?! Yes, we took them both...and what more, they became my babies. Didn't think it could happen to a non-pet-person? Apparently, it can.

Yep, they were mine. Mine to take care of. Mine to cuddle. Mine to love. And, they temporarily took away my deep desire for a baby. I named the boy Basil. Ja named the girl, Savoury. We were parents! (yes, this might sicken anyone reading that hasn't yet fallen in love with an animal).

The kittens got along great. Always played. Always slept together. Paw in paw. Adorable!

Then Basil got sick. He couldn't play, lost weight, and eventually had to be put down. We were all heartbroken. What was worse, Savoury would cry and try to look for him around the house. After a while, I encouraged Ja to find another kitten for Savoury to love. Not a good idea...To all those who think it's a good idea to get another pet to replace the one, take my advice...it's not!

Ja brought home a tiny kitten. A kitten that was just skin and bones. I oohed and ahhed over him as Ja brought him out of the carrier. The poor thing was shaking, he was so scared...or with rabies, as I would later come to think...

Yep, he was all cute for about a day. I don't know if a demon was hiding somewhere in our house waiting for a willing creature, or what, but, the animal went ballistic. Running like crazy. Scratching at everything. Chewing whatever flesh it came in contact with. And, ripped out Savoury's hair any chance it got...so much for the mental dream of Savoury and the new kitty cuddling and becoming fast friends.

I don't know how many times I called the animal clinic asking for any drug/tranquilizer they might have for wild beasts. Unfortunately, that's not exactly how they deal with animals like the one we got. The gal did say to place toys all around so to as to keep him occupied. Our house looked like we could have hosted 300 cats with the amount of toys we left laying around. We warned everyone that visited to keep their shoes on. And, we mostly tried to stay on top of any furniture so that our ankles and feet stayed in one piece. This animal was 100% different from my Basil. Basil would lay down with me anytime. He would allow me to pet him anytime/anywhere, including his tummy, which Ja informed me is usually a giant no-no to most cats.

Cecil is what we named the demon-cat. And, who can count the times I called Ja while he was a work, begging him to come home and take the darn thing away? But, being the disgustingly loyal people we are, kept him, saying that despite being horrible, he was part of the family.

Well, as of today, Cecil is still with us. He has calmed down considerably, thank goodness. He still isn't the nicest of cats. I'm still fearful of him, occasionally. And, Savoury is missing a couple patches of hair. Maybe in another year, he will act like an old man, or be dead...

I told Ja that if we ever get another cat, it will be an old one...

Basil's on the left. Sav's on the right.

Cecil we went got him. A rare moment...him sitting still...