The Infinite Joy of Cat Ownership

The infinite joy of cat ownership… let me rephrase that. A person doesn’t own a cat, but the person becomes an indentured servant of these creatures. Long ago, the Egyptians became enamored with these animals to the point that they assumed the often aloof and arrogant attitude of these creatures made deities to be worshipped. They wandered the courts of the pharaoh and the Egyptian elite and upon the cat’s demise; they were embalmed and encased in a sarcophagus and placed in a burial chamber.

Today, mankind doesn’t worship the cat, but the servitude continues. Watering, feeding and hauling away their daily toilet has become our tasks. We keep them inside to protect our homes from rodents, but my cat Willow only toys with them, choosing to catch and eat the common houseflies. She graces herself at my side as I try to write and create a semblance of thought to softly “mew” until I recognize her presence and give her a treat.

As I travel in my kitchen, she will have pushed her food or water bowl into the center of the floor, chiding me that I dared to forget to refill her offerings. Her resting places are nearly always in the middle of the stairs where I am most likely going to step on her or trip over her relaxed form if I miss seeing her in the night. Last night as I attempted to fall asleep, she came to my bedside to clean herself. The tiny bell of her collar jingled until she finished her toilette. Often she will jump onto the bed or onto my lap to have an itch scratched or her fur smoothed.

Other joys include finding clumps of her log black and white fur decorating my new carpet or furniture. Sometimes I hear a retching and gagging sound. That means that she’s shared more of herself with me. I hurry to clean up the regurgitated saturated hairball before it dries and stains the carpet. Why is it always the carpet? Why can’t she use the litter box? If I miss hearing the sounds of her puking, I sometimes tread on the soggy offering as I stagger from the bed making the nightly trek to the bathroom. Oh what joy to be a cat owner.