It’s almost time for school to start up again, so let’s take this opportunity to quickly review:  What is a Good Cat?

   I like to think of the definition in terms of Humphrey Bogart’s description of Captain Renault in Casablanca:  “He’s like any other man, only more so.”

   In the same way, a Good Cat is like any other cat, only more so.  Here’s an example: Generally speaking, cats meow.  Nicky, our youngest, meows.  Therefore, Nicky is a cat.  However, when everyone else is in bed and the lights are out, and he begins to meow loudly, as though he’s straining to make himself heard over the roar of a set of jet engines — then, Nicky is a Good Cat.

   We have four cats, and all of them are Good Cats at one time or another.  But aside from that shared characteristic, our cats have widely diverse personalities.  Kelly, the oldest, is a mellow, friendly guy who loves naps and food.  Lizzie, adopted a few months after Kelly, is easily frightened, and when she’s not hiding from some imagined danger, she spends most of her time with Pat.

   You’ve already heard Nicky — well, maybe not literally, but I wouldn’t bet against it, either.  We suspect his voice goes to eleven, like the amps in This is Spinal Tap.

   And then there’s Caitie.  When we adopted her, she was a recently rescued, insecure little lady cat, but after several years with us, she has blossomed into the original Calico Diva.  Her attitude is that our home is her own personal day spa and we are its staff.

   Still, even considering her diva behavior, her finickiness, her world that has to be just so, it all fades into the background when we have a little quality time together.  Caitie follows me into the upstairs bathroom, and she’s trained me to understand that means she wants me to take an old hairbrush and brush her fur with it.  I’ve also learned that after she’s had enough brushing, I should go and lie down on the bed and place a piece of fleece on my stomach so she can knead it with her front paws.  After her “brushie” and after her kneading, she often lies down beside me, curls up, and purrs herself to sleep.  That’s when any aggravation at being owned from time to time by a willful, headstrong Good Cat gives way to contentment at sharing life with a happy and satisfied good cat.

Pat and I have wondered about why our four cats have four different personalities.  It’s been said that when the student is ready, the teacher appears, so maybe that explains why I recently learned about Dr. Steffen Stacey Runquist and the “purrsonality” profile quiz.  Using that as a reference, we have Kelly the Lover; Lizzie the Scaredy Cat; Nicky the Boss Cat, and Caitie the Diva.

Purr-litical Correctness describes what one might call the differences between “bad kitties” and “Good Cats.”  For example:  “My cat does not break things, she helps gravity do its job.”

Cats have the right idea when it comes to mixing work and pleasure, but some humans need to be reminded.  Here’s a short sweet reminder that puts it in terms anyone can understand. And now that I have more time in my day — for a little while, anyway — it’s time to end this August blog vacation and get back to having fun in the kitty corner of cyberspace.