A Cat's Tale

A Cat's Tale
By: Linda DePeel (c.) 2008

When I decided it would be okay to live with my mom, back in 2000, little did I know that 8 years later, that "we" would "inherit" so many cats! Mom already had Lucy, a long-haired gray Persian with huge green eyes, and Mickey, a yellow-orange "Mutt-Cat" with a really long tail. Well, okay, good enough. I wasn't used to cats, but these two seemed low maintenence.

Then, on Halloween of 2000, some kids rang our doorbell. "Here's your cat, Lady!" one of them told me, and in walks this scrawny, black, white and gray spotted kitty. He made himself at home immediately, making a beeline for the food, and I turned to my mom and said, "What a big joke!" Little did I know. I fell in love with "B. J." and we were best buddies. He would be waiting at the door for me to come home from work, and I was not allowed in until he had The Tummy Rub and the Back Scratch! When I came home with a pure black kitty that we named "Polly", B. J. became like a surrogate mother. He washed her, made sure she ate, slept with his paws around her, protected her, and even "spanked" her! Then we lost our beloved B.J. to nephritis, and Polly has never been the same. To this day, she has little to do with anyone, and still prowls about at night, looking for "her mama".

"BB" had been best buddy and comforter of one of our neighbors who was dying of cancer. When he became too ill to have her around, he had requested she be given to us, because he knew we would give her a good home. So, BB, a long-haired yellow Persian was adopted as part of the "Catz Family". We "inherited" "Boss Kitty", a gray Himalayan, "Bootsy", a long-haired black-and-white "coon" cat.

I kept saying to Mom, "Okay, no more cats." Mom would say, "Well, they're God's creatures, too!" "Yes, I know they are, but we can barely afford to pay the bills!" So we stopped "having cats for awhile". Then, one day, as a friend brought me home from work, my neighbor, Belinda ran out of her house, frantically waving her arms. My friend pulled up to the curb, but Belinda was too late. Mom was standing in the doorway, holding up a baby kitten, hollering, "See what I found!" "Oh my Lord!" I groaned. "Not another one!" Belinda, still waving her arms was saying, "Now, Sis! Don't blow a gasket! Don't blow a gasket!" Hah! As if it would do any good!

I named him Eddie Van Halen, after Mom started telling my sisters and nephews how he could jump. My nephews started imitating Van Halen's "Jump". But Mom named him Ernie. Eddy, Ernie, didn't matter. He was a gorgeous Bengel kitty with quite the personality! Even after he had been declawed, he had a penchant for shredding paper--especially t.p. He loved to terrorize his "siblings" and they always had company in the litter box, especially Boss Kitty! We had him for about 10 months, and he became sick and died suddenly. We had taken him to the vet, and next morning, when she called, she was dissolved in tears. So were we. Ornery as he was, we had loved him, as we had loved B.J. Now even Mom said, "No more." It didn't last.

I had seen a baby tortoise shell kitty out in our back yard and she looked so sad and pathetic. I felt so bad for her--had her mother abandoned her? Then, a few days later, my sister, Rose comes in, carrying this tiny fur ball, demanding we take charge of her. Indeed, she had been abandoned, and if we didn't take her, she'd die. "So, how come you don't take her?" I snapped. "John would pitch a fit!" she replied. "And you can always put an ad in the paper and give her away!" It looked like I had no choice, and decided that she would have to go. So much for Grim Resolve. She got into things, made Mom mad, and one day, I plucked her off the shelf and she looked up at me with such adoration and love. It was as if she were saying, "Thank you for giving me a home. I love you!" My heart melted, and needless to say, she is still a family member. I named her Serena, after the character on "Bewitched", and she is certainly living up to her name! She's long haired with yellowish eyes; her upper lip on the left side is black, the right is tan, so she looks as if she's smirking. She loves to terrorize, plays "paper" when I crumple up a piece of paper and toss it. She "fetches" it and brings it back so I can toss it again. She's nosy, sassy, but she's my kitty. Mom said to me one day, "You've made that cat mean, Sis!" "Oh, really?" I returned. "What was the first thing you taught her?" "To use the litter-box," Mom said, in her authoratative tone. "Eeeeh! Wrong! It was, 'Jump on and fight!' I just took it a step further and taught her how to box!" (Serena only wants to cuddle on her terms!)

Of course, this "tail" may not have a happy ending. Our landlord is trying to evict us, because we have too many cats, so we shall see. Stay tuned, folks! This one ain't over yet!