Do you have cats? Any animals? Did you have any growing up?
I grew up with Siamese cats. My first cat - KJWK (pronounced Kidge-wick). Each letter of KJWK was the first name of my family - Kady, Joan (mom), William (dad), Kim (sister). He was a seal-point, a beautiful and sweet boy. We lived in Davis, CA, and I had him for maybe 6 years. I'm not sure what happened to him, I was very young.
My next cat was also a seal-point. Her name was KK (for Kady's kitten). Had I been forward-thinking, I would have named her KC for Kady's cat. We got her when I was about 10 years old and she lived for 21 years. She pretty much loved only me until her later years. Funny story-I was a heavy sleeper when I was young and KK slept with me. If she wanted out at night, she'd throw her body against my bedroom door so that it would bang and wake my mom up. I loved that cat. We lived in the Sierra Foothills in CA (Twain Harte for awhile then Angels Camp). When I went to college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, she stayed with Mom. When I joined the Navy, she came to Maryland with me and that's where she crossed the rainbow bridge. Taking her to the vet was the hardest thing I had to do.
Jose and I were married 10 years before we got Mali Suda (stands for Jasmine Girl in Siamese). She was a Siamese Tortie and probably the meanest of all our cats. She loved Jose and I, tolerated Quentin because we took care of Q from the age of 6 weeks to 1 year during the week while his parents worked. So Q grew up with Mali. She was such a character, an indoor and outdoor cat, she loved to take walks with us, slept next to me every night, and hated when we were gone. She was an excellent hunter but did not eat her prey. She would disable them enough so that she could play with them until they died then she'd lose interest. She caught lizards, birds (even hummingbirds), a bunny (although it got away), and she almost caught a squirrel. She was amazing! She was 2 weeks shy of turning 14 when we had to take her to the vet. That was such a sad day but I wasn't alone this time, Jose was with me.
We waited 2 years before we got Cy-Mon and Zena. They were rescue cats and they were 5 months old when we got them. They were fostered at the same place from the time they were 6 weeks old and they had bonded. We had decided to get 2 cats so that when we traveled, they could keep each other company. They are both so sweet and very gentle with us, rarely scratching us or anything like that. They're not brother-sister but they act like it. They play together, fight now and then, and snuggle together. Their personalities are very different. Cy-Mon is a seal-point and a love bug. He sleeps with us every 2nd or 3rd night and always wants to be near us. Zena is a snowshoe and very independent.
She will sit out on the screened patio for hours, does not sleep with us, but curls herself around me when we're on the sofa watching a show at night.
Look how light they were when they were young!
They are 4 years old now and the last 2 pictures are of them today. They're indoor cats but we'll take them outside for 15 or 20 minutes every couple of days. We love them both and get such a kick out of their antics.
What's funny about having cats is how we accommodate them. If Cy-Mon is sleeping next to me at night for example, and I have to get up for whatever reason, I will wiggle out of his way even if I have to wake up Jose in the process so that I don't disturb him. If Zena wants to go out to the screened patio, she need only look at me and give a little meow and I'll stop whatever I'm doing to go let her out. And I leave the door open a crack so she come back inside when she's ready (even if it's cold outside).
The things we do for our fur-babies!! But I wouldn't have it any other way. They bring us such joy and laughter.
If you have animals, what kinds of things do they do that make you laugh or make you glad that you have them?
They're in our lives for such a short time...for them, we're in their lives for their entire life. I want to make their lives the best it can be so they know they're loved and cherished.
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