While I was moping around feeling sorry for myself I got to thinking about 'cat cuddles'. I touched on this in January when I was ill last time, but searching through my old pictures reminded me of how cats have been around in my family for generations. Cats crop up in stories about the family as well. For example, when I was small my grandmother had a cat, although his name has slipped my mind for now. This cat scared the daylights out of my mother, apparently! I suppose having grown up with dogs in her family, combined with arriving in England to marry my father unable to speak hardly any English , must have exacerbated the situation? The very large tom cat used to sit on a stool and generally swipe anyone that walked by with his huge paw....my mother's words not mine! It does seem that my uncle used to tease and tease this cat so he was probably an old irritable male who simply wanted a peaceful life? I am a firm believer that you can help the personality of an animal by the way you behave towards it. For example we never ever hit our pets, or poked them, or wound them up until they were annoyed and restless. We made sure they knew....and the two girls we have now also know.....that they were loved. We petted them, stroked them, talked to them and generally loved them to bits. Maybe that is why all of our cats have been very laid back, gentle, loving animals that are friendly to everyone? Not always a good thing, as an animal like that tend to be very trusting of all humans and very approachable......as we learnt to our cost with the lovely black and white tom cat,Tank, but that terribly sad story is for another day.......! Still, on the other hand, it meant Jonesy in particular was very well known, and very well loved, in our neighbourhood. I remember taking Jonesy to the vets one day and the vet appearing to be rather nervous of him as we took him out of the basket. Even to this day I cannot understand that, because all of our cats have been so gentle, but maybe some cats visiting the vets are scared or hurt and lash out? A cat's claw can hurt real bad if it catches you in the delicate skin.
When I was married my parents acquired two kittens. Well actually what happened was that my brother said he would take one....and then had to move and couldn't keep him....and I said I would have one and then didn't want to separate them. It was a good idea because my brother and I could still see them but they lived with my parents. Good company all round! They were two absolutely wonderful fun loving black and white kittens called Nosey...because he was.......and Porky....because he was.Nosey was leaner and more aloof than Porky, who was far more genial and laid back. Both were lap cats. though, and my sons tell me they have great memories of those two pets.
How lovely it is that we have had the privilege of sharing our lives with these amazingly generous animals? These cats have allowed us to enfold them into our lives. They have shared our laughter, our sadness, our food, our families and indeed our cuddles, and anyone who has had a cat snuggle back into the crook of their neck, or arm will understand exactly what I mean when I say 'cat cuddles rule, okay'.
'Cat Cuddles' rule.....Definitely...!
ReplyDeleteWhen l was first married...Goodness...1973. And, before my daughter was born..(76). We used go go up to the Inlaws, in Stafford. We had three cats.
Darlinga, Muffty, and Nekema...As we only had one cat basket, the two kittens, Muffty and Nekema, went into the basket, but Darlinga had to sit in the car, and find her own space.
All the way up to Bristol, she could'nt settle.
When we got to the M4/M5 then M6.....She jumped up onto my shoulders, and curled her self around my neck, around the back, and went to sleep.
So, there l was, driving up the motorway, with a pussy-cat asleep on my shoulders.
Though...I often wondered, if l'd ever been stopped, what l would be charged with...Probably
been some sort of feline offence.....! :>).