One Crazy Cat Lady

I have 2 cats we rescued years ago from an animal shelter. I had originally just wanted one, since my son wanted a pet and he needed to start learning responsibility. So I found this adorable grey tuxedo kitten on the Animal Ark website. His name was Starsky (as in Starsky and Hutch) and he was the cutest little thing you could ever want. Then we met his brother, a black tuxedo kitten by the name of Huggy Bear. He was even cuter, because he has a little half mustache. I got to reading about kitten care and the cat experts say to get 2 kittens so they play with each other and don’t destroy your house. Perfect solution – so we adopted both.

Now my boys are grown and are some of the laziest kitties you will ever meet. Oh, they wrestle each other and go flying up and down the stairs, but they haven’t destroyed my house and don’t play with yarn. What? Cats that don’t play with yarn?

It’s true. I taught my cats not to play with my yarn. One – it is bad for them if they swallow it. It can twist around their intestines and kill them. Two – who really wants to buy an item with cat slobber and fur all over it. So, I trained my cats not to touch my yarn.

Cats are trainable, contrary to popular belief. A spray bottle and a quick spritz deters any unwanted behavior. Unless you have a cat like my brother.

His tabby named Lando loves the water. So much so, that when my brother takes a shower, he has to turn on the water and the shower head, and leave the room for a few minutes so his cat can play in the water. When Lando is done, my brother can take his shower. But, he has found an alternative form of training aid – a can of air. Lando hates it, so bad behavior is quickly averted with a quick spray.

I have also taught my cats to sit on command when they are given wet food or treats. I haven’t yet broken them of the habit of meowing at me very loudly while I prepare their can of wet food, or when I’m in the kitchen preparing my food, but for the most part they are very well behaved cats.

Cats are also more trainable if they have toys to play with. My cats love to chew on cardboard and plastic bags, which isn’t a big deal. The cardboard helps clean their teeth. Some of my yarn comes on these thick cardboard cones. When I’m done with that skein of yarn, I toss the empty cone on the floor and the cats go to town. Yes, I have bits of cardboard I have to clean up, but it is worth it to see my boys happy.

The two boys sleep in bed with me at night. They think I am a giant mommy kitty who purrs very loudly. Yes, I snore. So when it is bedtime, Huggy will hop into my chair and stare at me and mew (soft meowing) until I shut off the lights and head upstairs to bed. Then, as I’m checking my phone for the final time, he jumps up on the bed and nudges my arm and starts his loud motor running. Huggy has always been a loud purrer.

These boys are as much a part of the shop as my son. They remind me to get up every once in awhile and stretch, or remind me when it is time to go to bed. Starsky loves to cuddle up on my legs when I'm crocheting.

Now, they aren’t perfect. They like to chew on things that don’t belong to them, like shoelaces and power cords. In fact, whenever we buy a new electrical device, my son and I have to carefully wrap our power cords in black electrical tape.

But even if they aren’t perfect, I still love them and am so grateful they are a part of our household.