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    Alice Adams

Drippin' Life, Feb. 28

When being catty is good for you!

In making my most recent lifestyle change, now about 2.5 years ago, I joined a household of six humans, two cats and one dog. (Since then, we’ve added four chickens.)

About a year later, I received a call from a friend, saying she had rescued three kittens, just hours away of being destroyed at a shelter nearby without a no-kill policy. She was on her way to pick them up and if I would take one, she would give me the pick of this small litter.

I checked with the resident humans and felines, got the okay, and after five weeks, baby Ron-Duh! came into our lives.

Ron-Duh! is a beautiful gray-and-white mixed-up with a dominant Maine Coon breed influence, which means she’s a long-hair, a long, full tail and hind legs configured to appear she’s wearing leg-warmers. She loves water, is fiercely playful, eats with gusto and shares her emotions, not with the typical meow but a series of “mehs,” which mean “I need to be petted,” “I’m hungry,” “I’m missing my humans,” etc. She’s also extremely curious, and at the same time stubborn, relentless, smart and unusually nocturnal.

In watching Ron-Duh! interact with her human and animal housemates, I’m learning some lessons I find myself applying to my own life. I wanted to share some of these here:

1. When cats are in need of a slower pace or some personal quiet time, they tend to simply disappear. No apologies, they simply go to their “happy place” in the house and stay there until they’ve rested from the chaotic comings and goings of a busy household and are ready to get back into the faster rhythm.

2. There is a respectful pecking order, immediately apparent when Ron-Duh! joined the household. At mealtime, for example, the oldest cat – 11-year-old Sam –eats first. Next the smaller, forever-kitten Naula and lastly Ron-Duh! who, by virtue of her breed, is much larger than Naula, but still has seniority. This example should resonate with all of us…the respect part in particular.

3. Our Labrador Cass is up in years as well, and seems to sometimes exercise his place as pack leader, herding the felines away from door when the bell rings, alerting them (and us) to the arrival of “outsiders” and even gently grooming Sam and the two females when necessary.

4. Which brings me to the next lesson. It doesn’t matter who helps with your grooming (physical, intellectual or emotional). Even if they are outside your genus or breed, they’re just trying to help you be your better self.

5. Only eat until you are full. No further comment needed.

6. In cooler weather, which we seem to be having more of, stay close together – even cuddle. We’re all in this together and sometimes staying close offers a needed boost for our feelings of security.

7. Never let a day pass without taking time to play and have fun. It doesn’t require costly stuff – maybe nothing more than finding something want to learn more about – like watching a bird build a nest or the capricious flight of a housefly.

8. Stay carefully curious. Opposing the old saw, “Curiosity killed the cat,” cats are curious, though carefully, about what they might find under the bed, in a dark corner or under a bush. Rarely will a cat go out on a limb without first testing its strength.

9. Love and take care of yourself. Our cats spend a lot of time during the day, cleaning themselves, preening and drinking plenty of water. They also stretch a lot, a good reminder, especially to those who lead fairly sedentary lives.

10. Let yourself be loved. Who doesn’t enjoy a good shoulder massage? Our cats make sure they are within easy reach when someone sits down and has time to scratch or rub backs, stroke egos, so to speak, and make them the singular object of their affection and attention. 

Watching the cats has made me fully appreciate the feline lifestyle, and if it turns out we all come back as some type of animal, I think I’d like to come back to this house as a cat.

Maybe whoever said, “It’s a dog’s life,” should reconsider. A cat’s life doesn’t seem too tough and actually makes a lot of sense…at least to me.

 

Dripping Springs Century-News

P.O. Box 732
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620

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