When it’s time to replace a cat (that has recently passed), my local cat shelter is my first choice to find my next furry friend. I do it because I believe it’s the right thing to do (for the cat and me).
I’m a cat person. It’s true. I like pussies. From their funny triangular noses to the pink jellybean pads on their cute little feet, I pretty much like everything about them.
They say people are either cat people or dog people. I’m the former. I don’t dislike dogs, but if you put a kitten in one of my hands and a puppy in the other, I’ll spend most of my time playing with the little kitty.
My first kitten cost me 50 cents (all the way back in 1977). I spent all my pocket money at a weekend market stall to buy a grey kitten, which I soon called Smokey. My mother and father were horrified. They weren’t sure I’d take care of her, but I did, and I enjoyed every minute of her company. Smokey lasted to the golden age of 17.
Spock came into my life in ’93. I found him in the garden, under a set of stairs in a place I was renting. I heard an awful mewling sound in the greenery and found a grey tabby in pain, bleeding. I took him to the vet. They cleaned him up, and I nursed him back to health. He stayed with me for the next 13 years! (I never found his owner)
It doesn’t matter what breed or age a cat is; I like making friends with all of them (Except those hairless ones. They are u g l y!).
It takes time to figure out what a cat is thinking. It’s hard to tell if they like or dislike you. You have to work at understanding a cat’s emotions and thoughts to find out. Cats don’t show them so readily or give their love to just anyone. Gaining a cat’s trust is the most rewarding experience a cat owner can have. This is what makes cat people so different (to dog people). They are inherently empathetic individuals (dog people want the easy-to-read animals).
When I look into getting a new cat, I search for one with a certain personality. I like people-oriented cats. The aloof one just isn’t my kind of cat. It’s got to hang about and say hello to your face and look you in the eye when they do it. It’s got to have character and a little pizzazz!
Levi is my current puss.
Levi is a rescued cat. He looks at you when he speaks (yes, he talks). I don’t know what he says, but I know that whatever it is, it’s important because he said it. Most of the time, it’s an affirmation of some sort. He wants me to know that he’s there. His eyes slowly close. I know he’s happy. By responding, he knows I’ve told him I am happy too. Life is perfect for both of us to continue doing what we’re doing the way we’re doing it.
Someone dropped him off at a cat shelter, and that’s all I know about Levi’s past.
He’s a one-man cat. If a stranger comes onto my property, he runs away just as fast as he can. If I wear boots around him, he does the same thing to me (I figure he was abused by someone with large shoes or boots). Someone found the scared kitten and took him to the cat shelter in the hope that someone else would claim him.
Someone did.
They (the shelter staff) think he was about 9 months old when they received him. He’s about 10 years old and enjoying life as a cat should.
He’s been across Australia (via road, in a car), changed residence three times, and taken it all in his stride. He just loves the attention Margo and I give him. We couldn’t have asked for a better kitty to share our time and lives with.
–Michael (Dark fiction. Author of SEETHINGS (the first book), free for a limited time)
SEETHINGS II follows the return of the Storm Killer as a body on a secluded beach in Moreton Bay, igniting fear and denial. While police dismiss the link, the media doesn’t. Mitchell Felding forms a dangerous bond with a man who understands his darkest impulses. When Natasha enters his life, carrying love letters from her murdered mother, intimacy deepens, and truth closes in. Some futures are inherited. Some have escaped.
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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