Everyday life with Good Cats, plus anything else that comes to mind.
My sister in Michigan sent me this next, and I’m always glad to pass along a well-crafted observation about cats. She says this is from Dean Koontz’s book “Brother Odd”:
“Vanity is strictly a human weakness. No animal is capable of vanity. People sometimes say cats are vain, but cats are haughty. They are confident of their superiority and do not crave admiration, as do vain men and women.”
Nicely put, and not bad for a dog person…
Had a little more time today, as Pat continues to improve, so I visited some blogs for the first time in several days. It was good to see them again, too. I like going around and seeing how creative cats and their humans can be. If you’re on the blogroll here and I haven’t been by your blog lately, I’m going to try to get there as soon as I can…
In particular, I saw on the Cat Blogosphere Toosday Noos that curly cat Daisy’s sister Pixie was celebrating a birthday, and I stopped by to add our best birthday wishes. Pixie was enjoying all the bananas she received (um, I mean “bananers”), both the real ones and the ones containing catnip. And that led to this…
A baked graham cracker crust, made from the recipe in the 1961 Betty Crocker cookbook at the top left; a pot of whole milk on the stove top with banana cream pudding mix already stirred in; and way over there on the left, a couple of real ripe bananas with brown peels… I think you can see where this is leading…
On one side of the stovetop, I’m stirring the pot, waiting for the pudding to boil; and on the other, sliced bananas lining the crust. You can just feel the anticipation building, can’t you? 
And yes, that’s a couple of cans of Stinky Goodness on the countertop next to an open jar of Baby Chicken…
Finally, the finished product, topped with real whipped cream beaten in a chilled bowl. And at the bottom, my first piece of the pie. (Pat had a smaller slice and gave it her approval.)
It’s real nice to be able to take the time to do something in the kitchen, too…
My sister Sandy lives in Michigan with her husband John and several cats. The number varies because she lives in the country, where cats just sort of appear out of nowhere. Then they hang around because they learn she’s a soft touch. (We have that in common, and a lot more… the differences are that she’s better-looking, but I’m younger and a better speller.)
We also both know a Good Cat when we see one. Sandy sent me an email Sunday morning about one of their resident cats, a gray lady cat named Opal who is the real boss of the household. Here’s what Sandy wrote about what she calls “Opal’s rules of civilized behavior”:
“If your hand moves, pet me.
If I climb up in your lap, pet me.
If you are reading a book (or working on a computer or any other non-cat-related activity) and I come over to you, pet me.
If you roll over in bed at night, pet me.
If you are sitting on the toilet (not using your hands for anything else), pet me.
If you are in the tub (not using your hands for anything else), pet me — but dry your hand off first.
ALSO…if you are in the kitchen, treat me!”
I was hoping to have a video ready to show you today, but it’s not ready. Instead, here’s a repost from September 2005, which includes stills from the 8mm video that was taken 12 years ago, when Kelly introduced himself to us…
From the back of the house, a chipmunk kept barking. I took the 6-month-old camcorder outside to try to find out why. All I saw was a cottontail rabbit, and I pointed the camera at it, although it wouldn’t move, which made for uneventful video.
I faded out on the rabbit and hit the Stop button. Just then, from the corner of my eye I saw something small running into our yard, and I pointed the camera at it and hit Record.
He made his way into our garden, and gave us a lean and hungry look before chewing on some rye grass.
Although he had no collar and obviously had not eaten well for some time, he was a friendly fellow, as though he had been someone’s pet.
We gave him leftover grilled chicken and milk diluted with water, and he devoured them. Next, he went to the back screen door and stood there, wanting to go inside. Curious, perhaps. And perhaps he wanted a home and was starting the process of adopting us.
We didn’t let him in that first day, and a couple of hours later, he disappeared. The next morning, he was back again, and I was glad to see him.
Pat and I had both worked as temps when we moved here in the late 1980’s, so maybe it wasn’t surprising when I began trying to come up with a name for him that this cat’s comings and goings reminded me of those days. It was as though we’d phoned a temp agency and asked them to send over a cat for the day. I began to call him our Kelly Temp Cat.
You can guess the rest. Ten years and lots of good food later, here he is, our Kelly Cat, who thanks to the Internet is known around the world as a Good Cat.
Photo taken September 22, 2005. Quite possibly The Greatest Cat Of All Time.
Pat’s doing very well today… still tires easily, which is to be expected. But getting better all the time (walked out to get the newspaper this morning). Both of us appreciate the good thoughts and wishes from good cats and their humans… thanks so much.
To find more easy Sunday goodness:
Oh, and here’s where you can get your own Gizzy Quilt…
I’m downstairs on the laptop, and Pat is lying on the couch across from me, holding Nicky on her lap and watching Rachael Ray. After a week in the hospital, she is happy to be home and Nicky is happy to see her (and vice versa).
In a few minutes, I’ll make sure she’s comfortable and then I’m running over to the nearest pharmacy to get multiple prescriptions filled. This isn’t the best time to write, and I’ll try to add more later, but wanted to let everyone know the good news.
The hospital staff was great, full of real professionals, from the support staff up to and including the surgeon Dr. Wu. (No, Steely Dan fans, I didn’t ask… but that’s a good enough excuse for me to link to the song as well as the lyrics…)
Gotta run… back soon…
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