Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   I have never, strictly speaking, been owned by a cat. At least not one I bought or was responsible for. But I have known several of them down the years, and yes, one of them did try to "Adopt" me. I shall tell their stories here.

   The first cat I knew was Midnight. He owned my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Dave. I was very very young.....so it did not go to well.

   He was called Midnight because he was all black. He was not a mean cat, but wasn't exactly a nice one either. I was VERY young (2? 3?) And I was fascinated by his twitching tail.

   So being a little kid, I stepped on the tail.

   Let's just say he paid me back for it in spades.

   Years later, when Midnight was an ooooooooooooold kitty, I visited my Aunt and Uncle in their new home. He climbed up to me and stared curiously into my face. Clearly he was like "Do I know you?"

   I was glad he forgot.

   Next cat I knew was Cooney. She was an elegant long-haired white Persian. She lived across the streat from me, and she had never forgiven her humans for having children. I never fed her, but I was the one who petted her most and paid the most attention to her. One time she even followed me down to the bus stop for school, meowing piteously.

   Then I got to know my Aunt and Uncle's new cats, Spooky and Smokey. Spooky was another all black tabby, Smokey was gray. I got along with them, but didn't get to pet them much; they were always running around. Not scared or skittish, just constantly active. It was like "No time to play; I have to attack stuff now!"

   After college, I had moved into my own place. A couple moved in with me; theirs was a very sad story I will not relate here. They were owned by three cats.

   The first was called Furface, or Mommy. A charcoal gray tabby, she was antisocial. Not mean, she just didn't have much time for us humans.

   The second was Goofball, or Spaz. Furface's daughter and all black, she had a similar disposition.

   The third was Tiglet, or the Mutant. A big gangly orange tabby in his "teenage" years; that is to say, no longer a kitty but less than a year old. He was very skittish but also very affectionate. You could pet him all you liked, you just couldn't pick him up (he would bolt). The couple called him Tiglet cuz he looked like a tiger and ate like a piglet. I called him the mutant because of his extra toes on each paw and his strange meow. It wasn't really a meow at all; he just opened his mouth and let the sound out in a wailing "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" noise.

   He decided that I was "His" human, and slept on my bed, on top of the covers by my feet, and spent the most time with me while I lived with them. This is as close as I have ever come to being owned by a cat.

   All 3 of these cats were fascinated by the grill in the floor that let them see downstairs to where the shower stall was. One time Spaz got caught in the folding staircase that led to the attic and Furface meowed frantically till I rescued her baby.

   Now I have no kitties, but TDK and Meme cats sustain me. :)

   Posted 4 years ago by Arcalian #

2. 

   Loved your story Arcalian. You have a good way with words.

   Posted 4 years ago by feral #

3. 

   Loved that story,Arcalian.You have a writer's gift there fer' sure.
   I could picture all the scenes,but then I have a very active imagination to begin with!! I guess that's why I'm drawn(no pun intended!)to the arts myself.
   Keep honing your gifts there,my friend! And Godspeed.

   Posted 4 years ago by Tigger #

4. 

   Arcalian, very well done, my friend. I was enthralled by your story and pictured every scene! Please keep writing, I've enjoyed the time. Tell us another story when you have a moment.

   Have a good week and I'll catch up to you soon. Hugs, purrs, and love, Lynn

   Posted 4 years ago by Lynn from PA 6/8 #

5. 

   I echo the others. Please, write more.

   Posted 4 years ago by miu #

6. 

   Part two:

   After the Midnight incident but when I was still very young, there was a family living across from me that were almost a shelter in their own right; more than 10 cats, possibly more than 20. It was then that I became afflicted with cat fever, I think. I couldn't name any of those cats now, of course.

   Nowadays I make friends over the Internet as so many of us do. I know a couple Canadians, and each are owned by felines.

   One young lady is owned by two cats (as well as a dog and two snakes). The elder cat she calls Noggin, a mean, foul-tempered Devon Rex. (That is the hairless breed, correct? If not then the hairless breed is the one I mean.) The younger, a recent acquisition, she calls Toby, a fantastic ball of Orange kitty energy. Despite my exhortations she will not submit Toby's picture to TDK. Both Toby and Noggin have their pics up on DeviantArt, however.

   The other canadian I know is owned by a tuxedo kitty named Miira, very much a suck up who craves attention from her "daddy". There was a picture of her up...once...somewhere on the net, but that was long ago and far away so to speak.

   Just the other night I went to a lady's house with my dad, to sing karaoke (my Dad is obsessed with Karaoke). The lady whose house we went to had 3 cats. I never got their names. There was a grey tabby who was scared of everything and ran away constantly, a mostly white cat with a few calico splotches who was so old and tired she would just sit there and let you pet her, and a proud black panther of a cat who would let you pet him while he (I think he was a he) stalked around the room.

   My roommate and best friend has no cats of his own, either; but he grew up with a siamese called Keiko, or "the feiline air raid siren" as he calls her. I only met her twice, but she is terribly afraid, and therefore utterly hostile to, any human not her own. She will even sometimes attack her own humans if they are wearing black or dark blue clothing (they speculate something bad happened to her in her kittenhood).

   They also learned not to take her on car rides, as she became violently ill.

   I am afraid that is all the cat stories of my own that I have; request more storise and I will give you annoying links to sites that have posted my fan fiction.

   But I am gratified by all the feedback. :)

   Posted 4 years ago by Arcalian #

7. 

   Wow, Arcalian, you do spin a wonderful "cattail"!

   May I join in?

   Of all the cats I have known in my life, I will always have a special spot for Melveen. Named for a local Hawaiian celebrity, Melveen was the first cat who "owned" me after my marriage. She seemed healthy enough when Hubby and I got her, but soon became very sickly. She was unable to hold down ANY kind of kitten food, and had constant diarrhea. We feared for her very life.

   The vet, as is the wont in the Hawaiian Islands, was quick to reach for the old-time remedy instead of the chemical one. He recommended preparing a cup of rice in the normal fashion, but adding 1/2 lb. of hamburger to the rice and water. He said to allow her to eat her fill, then store the rest in the fridge, microwaving the leftovers to room temperature before serving again. A pot of the rice/beef mixture would last about a week.

   Melveen slowly recovered, then flourished; growing into a feisty but playful and loving cat. She would never claw you, but would grab your wrist with her two front paws in such a manner as to say "I'm not going to hurt you, but I COULD." She never seemed to forget the lengths we went to in order to preserve her young life. At about the age of 4, Melveen had the opportunity to return the favor.

   By then Hubby and I had two of our three children and were living in Greenville, SC. I had come down with Scarlet Fever and was all but immobile in bed for a week. My dad, newly retired, came up from GA to take care of the kids. Hubby banished everyone from my room--everyone, that is, but Melveen. She never left my side. That entire week is a haze except for two things: the feeling of the cold compresses Hubby put at the back of my neck that provided the only relief from the pain, and the feeling of Melveen's soft, warm, furry body beneath my hand. She was my primary nurse during the ordeal; it was her turn to give the love that sustained me in my illness.

   I looked forward to a long life shared with this special caretaker cat, but alas, it was not to be. In 1995, on my oldest child's 7th birthday, Melveen (then age 8) wanted to stay indoors when we all left for the day's work or school. She had done something minor to upset Hubby and me, though, and we put her outside. I don't even remember what it was, but maybe I can blame it on still being numb with grief over the passings of both of my grandparents just two weeks earlier. Maybe I'm just still looking for something to blame besides my own stupidity.

   I returned home in the evening just long enough to get into comfortable clothes, then was heading back out to celebrate my son's birthday at a local restaurant with the grandparents (Hubby had a long commute and would meet us there later). She had not come when we arrived home, which I thought odd, but was so distracted that I did not dwell on it.

   As we backed out of the driveway, reality hit hard. Melveen lay lifeless in the culvert on the opposite side of the street. Her body showed no signs of trauma (in fact, it was curled up as if in a peaceful sleep), and we never learned if it was a car or the motor oil she had reeked of two weeks earlier (washing that off is a bittersweet, but hilarious story in itself) that did her in. The birthday celebration had suddenly become poignant. Melveen was gone. She was, and always will be, the best cat I ever had. I still miss her terribly.

   Posted 4 years ago by gatakitty #

8. 

   How sad!!!!!

   Posted 4 years ago by Arcalian #

9. 

   I prefer to think of her story as "bittersweet." Melveen's story was sad at the beginning and sad at the end, but there was an awful lot of love and joy in between.

   Posted 4 years ago by gatakitty #

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