We had a pretty lazy weekend just lounging in the den with the wood stove going, surrounded by our cats. I’ve often joked that my wife only married me because of my books, but that’s only partially true – she married me for my cats too. Something else I realized early on – I wished that I could introduce my wife to all my past cats. So that led me to the idea of writing down bits about my different cats to share with her. Who knows what it could turn into, but it’s a writing prompt on a topic that I have lots of stories to tell.
Part of the idea for starting this also came from watching one of our cats doing one of his usual derpy things, and a discussion about the habits of another of our cats. So without further adieu, our cats:
Pearl
Pearl is the oldest, and our pretty princess. She’s also the last feline connection to CJ, as Pearl was one in the last litter of kittens CJ “fostered” when we were living together. My favorite of that bunch was actually another, but Pearl was the runt and had bonded with Luna (who passed many years ago), following her around like she was momma. When we split and I moved, I didn’t want to traumatize Pearl and separate them (though Luna would have been fine with that) so I took her with me.
Pearl was initially a scaredy cat and constantly hid under my bed. While Luna was a bit more social and would explore the rest of the house and tolerate my roommate and visitors, Pearl wouldn’t leave my room. She eventually got comfortable enough to sit on the corner of the bed but that was about the extent of her social behavior until my wife came into the picture.
Pearl didn’t care much for her at first, but when we decided to move in together, my wife made it her mission to win her over. It took a lot of time and patience, but my wife turned Pearl into a lap cat. While Pearl still doesn’t care much for strangers (and still typically sequesters herself when we have visitors) she is now aggressively pushy when she wants attention – which is often. She will force herself onto our laps on the couch or wedge herself between our heads in bed. She is also quite chatty and is constantly yapping at us about one thing or another – usually it is to demand more pets and belly rubs.
Maynard
Maynard was the first cat my wife and I got as a couple, and our last cat from California. He’s a perfect “middle child.” She had wanted to get a kitten all her life but was never allowed to, so once we were established and living together, and Luna showed signs of slowing down and not wanting to play with Pearl, we decided to get another one. We went to one of the adoption events at a nearby pet store, and were accosted the moment we entered the room. This lanky “tween” black cat decided to introduce himself to us and not leave our laps. He was a bit older than we had intended, but it seemed like he took one look at us, decided we were the suckers he wanted, and made the decision for us.
At the shelter, he was called “Curious George” (in retrospect, that was also a fitting name), but we renamed him. Maynard is quite clever, and the closest to a “fur person” we have now. He too is quite chatty and vocal, but those demands are usually over food. He can hold conversations with us, and while I have to guess at what he’s saying, we’re fairly sure he understands every word we say to him.
This cat is a weirdo. He has an absolute love of plastic bags – grocery, chip, candy, or other, he will want to lick it (his favorite, however, are the Haribo Gummy Cola bags). He also loves belly raspberries, which started with his method of demanding to be picked up. He will walk up then reach out with both paws to grab at your waist. One day, annoyed, I picked him up and gave him a big raspberry on his belly – he seemed surprised at the moment, and struggled to be put back down so I did… at which point he started crying and asking to be picked up again. So I did, and gave him another raspberry, but this time he wasn’t surprised by it and began loudly purring as i slung him over my shoulder. These days, there are times when he’ll ask for repeated pickups in order to get repeated raspberries.
Roscoe
Roscoe is the newest addition to our feline family, and our resident “asshole cat” and “momma’s boy.” When we were living in Idaho, we were in apartments right by a park, and my wife found him alone and crying – so believing someone dumped him there she brought him home. He was pretty skittish at first, but quickly became besties with Maynard. He, too, was a “tween” when found, but quickly grew to be the biggest of the three.
He and I would butt heads a lot – both figuratively and literally (his greeting is a headbutt). He wanted to rule the house and be the top cat around, and would act accordingly – in the earlier days, he’d absolutely torment Pearl chasing her around because he wanted to play. He’d also constantly try to position himself between my wife and I and then get pissy when I’d move him or encroach on his space. It took some time, but he finally accepted me when my wife had to travel and was gone for a week – it was his first time apart from her since he joined our family. The week started normally, with him acting aloof towards me, but after a couple days his neediness overruled his competitive feelings with me and he started cuddling with me and even following me around during the day.
He’s now my shower buddy – he comes into the bathroom when I’m about to shower to hang out and apparently make sure I don’t fall and die. He also really likes “wet pets” – where I reach out of the shower and pet him with a wet hand. On occasion he has even gotten into the shower with me, but doesn’t do that often because he doesn’t like the bottom of the paws to get wet. He’s still a “momma’s boy” and my wife is definitely his favorite, but he has come around to me and no longer believes he’s the top cat around here.
Those are our current cats – and this took a lot longer than I expected (though part of that has been repeated interruptions and pauses to work on other things).
Interesting Tidbits
Song of the day: Cat People by David Bowie
Farewell to music on MTV: it’s the end of an era (even if that era really finished a long time ago) – “MTV will cease broadcasting its music channels after this year. For generations of rock fans, this is a sad moment”
Gold prices rose to a new record high this week, topping $4,300. Here’s why. – “A lot of it boils down to uncertainty. Interest in buying metals like gold typically spikes when investors become anxious.”
One million dollars offered to anyone who can decipher this script – “A mysterious puzzle is inscribed on small stones and clay – a compact script that has stayed sealed for thousands of years. The signs and symbols in the script look neat and tidy, yet their meaning remains out of reach to readers today.”
Are we living in a golden age of stupidity? – “From brain-rotting videos to AI creep, every technological advance seems to make it harder to work, remember, think and function independently”
Microsoft hates your local accounts on Windows, it just doesn’t want to admit it – “People prefer local accounts for privacy and convenience reasons, but, of course, Microsoft doesn’t share the same sentiment. After all, online accounts enable the company to associate user activity and diagnostics with a specific person, which is excellent for data collection and analysis.”
Family of fishermen killed in U.S. airstrikes in the Caribbean speak out – “Chad Joseph was among six people killed during U.S. military airstrikes on boats President Donald Trump claim were carrying drugs.”
Jared Leto Changed Tron: Ares to Make Himself the Star of the Franchise – “Jared Leto’s ego has officially derezzed Tron: Ares. By reshaping Disney’s $200 million sci-fi sequel into a vanity project built around himself, the Oscar-winner may have just ended both the franchise and his run as a leading man.”
Disney Animators Didn’t Want to Work on the Original ‘Tron’ – “The film’s use of computer-generated imagery alienated many of Disney’s longtime animators at the time, who actively feared being replaced.”
Dungeons & Dragons Creator Banned From Social Media For Defending Fantasy Like Lord Of The Rings – “Robert J. Kuntz helped co-create Dungeons & Dragons in the 1970s with figures such as Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Although he is no longer a part of the creative team, it is only reasonable that he would have opinions about the game as it has evolved. However, some fans of modern D&D took exception to his social media criticism of a recent piece of official D&D artwork that they reported his post for hateful conduct and got its visibility limited.”
DNA Evidence Uncovers Surprising Origins Of Native Americans – “A mitochondrial DNA study points to at least two waves of migration linking the Americas, China, and Japan- one during the last Ice Age, and another as the ice began to retreat.”
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