Them Darn Cats!

Ok, let's discuss these darn cats of mine! I have 5 of them. Of course, they all have their own distinct personalities. I would like to talk about that. I need to get this off my chest.

I'll start with Alexis. My OH and I had only been dating, for maybe a few months, when Alexis came into our lives. That was 15 years ago! We were at a friends house and their cat had kittens. We took one home. This is the direction she took with her life: she hates the outdoors, she is overweight, she sleeps all day, she hates strangers, she never comes out of our bedroom, ok, she does come out of our bedroom, but only to eat and use the litter box, but that is about it. I don't have many pictures of her since she spends most her life on our bed or under it.




About a year or 2 later, my OH said he wanted another kitten. Well, ok than! An employee from my work said she could get me one. She brought me 2. What the heck? What am I going to do with 2? She told me to pick one and I could just give the other one away. Yeah right! If a kitten or kittens falls into my lap, I will NOT ever just give one away! So this is how we ended up with Simba and Morgan.

We'll talk about Simba first. Only because she is an interesting character. And when I say interesting, I mean, interesting! She was very shy as a kitten. She was not a people cat. But as the years went on, she became more loveable. She was always a talker. Lately, she has been talking so much, I am about to pull my hair out! She talks nonstop! She always knows when I pull the cheese out of the fridge, she must take after me, MUST HAVE CHEESE! She must go outside, inside, outside, inside, you get the point. I get up and down approximately every 5 minutes to let her in or out. She has talked so much in the last couple months, I have been making her stay out just a little longer. Her meow is very loud. She'll follow me everywhere, rub on my legs, weave in and out of my legs and trip me, I am surprised she has not seriously hurt me yet!

Here's a story I will never forget. One summer evening, my OH and I were down by the pond. Simba was following us around. We had a snake encounter, a bald eagle encounter and Simba decided to fall into the pond. Simba, that isn't mud! She thought the pond was mud and went to walk across the mud, uh, I mean, water, well, she fell in. She decided to swim across the pond, and by the time I realized that she was going to run straight for the house, which by the way, the doors were open, I took off running, bad knee and all, hoping I could make it to the house before Simba did. Because if I didn't make it first, my stinky, algea covered, wet, nasty Simba, would have swamp water all over my carpet! Guess who made it first? Simba. Lets just say she made a mess, I was scrambling to catch her before she made it under my bed..............

Nope. Didn't catch her. You little stinker!

My OH's mom's cat had a litter of kittens. I first saw Domino when he was 2 days old! I told her that I wanted him and would be back to pick him up in 8 weeks. Sure enough, 8 weeks later, I showed up at her door to pick up my kitten. He was the coolest kitten, he loved to play in the rose trees, play with bubbles, he learned how to drum, yes, drum. If we only had digital cameras 8 years ago! After many years, he started to become very demanding. Once we moved to the country, he felt it was necessary that we had to walk him to the food bowl and pet him after we let him in from outside. I started doing this. I'd pet him. Then I had to pet him the right way, rub up and down his back, up his tail. I learned that if I didn't pet him the right way, he'd throw a huge fit. He'd cry, he'd follow me through the house and cry until I went back and petted him the right way. When the rain comes, which is all the time here, I have to dry him off with a towel. If I don't, he will throw a hissy fit, even if it's 3 in the morning, I have to get up and dry him with a towel, and if I ignore him, well, he'll keep me up all night! If he wants in, I better put him in. If he wants out, I better put him out.

He looks so demanding, doesn't he!

Domino really is my angel. But don't let his looks fool you! Once he is awake, it's all over!

Look sis! I have a spotted pill too!

My million dollar chunky monkey is the ruler of the roost. He is the boss. He will take any cat, dog or human down. Dakota is one tough guy. He has an attitude, he will attack Alexis, the 15 lb monster. He is a lover, a fighter, a sweetie and a meanie, all rolled up in a furry, black and white tuxedo!

Dakota finds trouble, he searches for it, I think this is why he was attacked by a dog 4 years ago, I know in my heart he would never back down from anything. I know he fought for his life that dreaded night. He was not going to lose. He didn't. He is still with me today, making me smile, laugh and cry. Here is Dakota's amazing survial story, just in case you haven't read it yet.

Dakota trying to be funny! Did you not think I'd see you in there? He had to go in through the back of the t.v. stand to get where he is, and all of a sudden I see this cat head. How are you going to get out, silly? There is glass stopping you from going forward!

Dakota always amazes me with the mischief he will get himself into. My OH was installing a new light/ceiling fan and guess who had to climb up the ladder? Monkey! Hopefully he was inspecting the electrical installation. This is one area my OH does not like to do!

I know alot of people are really going to think I am crazy when they see this. Yes! I dressed up my cat! This is probably something I should never tell anyone, it was only one time, I promise! I had to get this t-shirt for Dakota! It is a t-shirt with my favorite football team logo on it. I made my OH buy it. He did not want to do it. So I just put it in the shopping cart and when we got to the cashier, he says "How did that get in there?", gotta be sneaky around men! At first, Dakota didn't like it much, than he got used to it. I was never able to get it back on him, I hope I didn't traumatize him! Sorry monkey!

Morgan, my hunter. She is the almighty, killing machine. Everyday we have mice, shrews, moles, birds, baby bunnies, snakes and the dead list goes on and on. I wish she would leave the birds and bunnies alone. She is so little, it amazes me that she kills so much. I call my backyard, the boneyard! Morgan is my OH's favorite. She came home with Simba. Yes, remember Simba?

I will leave with a picture of how I sleep every night. Only this is with just my OH in bed, ssshhhh.....don't tell my OH I put this picture in here! We are always surrounded by 4 cats! It is a different group usually. It depends on which cat or cats, are inside. Morgan is on my pillow, Simba is right below her, than there is Domino, with Dakota at the bottom. Dakota usually sleeps on the DVR or in the guest room, he's not much of a cuddler at night. But for the others, they love to cuddle.

I love my cats, I couldn't live without them. They bring so much laughter, smiles, and pure joy into my life. They all have such different personalities and even though some can be extrememly annoying, I love them all the same!

There's nothing quite like being owned by 5 cats!