In response to an article titled 5 Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Got a cat:
I love animals, don’t get me wrong. However, when my husband stole his aunt’s cat last Thanksgiving and brought her into our home, I was a bit upset. We already have a cat, and adding a cat didn’t seem like a good idea to me.
I don’t know what got me to have a cat as a pet instead of a dog because there is no comparison between them regarding which of them is the best pet but I am aware that cats are a constant source of annoyance in the house and known to create ruckus time and again but I decided to keep it despite my husband’s aversion to cats.
I’ve had stray cats in the past that I at least kept outside all the time. Living in the country, they usually ended up with fleas, worms, and were a bit feisty at times. This new cat, named Angel, only knew life as an indoor cat. I could just see buying flea medications for her and our cat and the house, plus carpet cleaner for any “accidental” spots she’d leave. (Although, amazingly, she has never gotten fleas or ticks!) She can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, but other times she’s sweet and a little princess.
It took Angel a few days to get acquainted with the house and our cat, but after that, she took over. My husband is a cat person, and has had a few in his previous homes. So I let him take responsibility of her and decide what to buy her. First thing we did was go out and buy her a litter box and top-of-the-line litter. Then we picked out a bag of dry cat food – we went with Whiskas, which she still likes today.
Like I said, Angel can be a pain in the butt. When she’s out of food or water she follows me around, meowing and even biting me to get my attention. In the middle of the night she comes upstairs and jumps into bed with me, climbing all over my body, her paws landing on my neck. Sometimes she even sleeps on my long hair laying across the pillow. We have not had to de-claw her yet, but I believe we are going to have to get it done asap. In our previous home, we had a leather footstool and wood-edged furniture. Well, Angel liked to lean up against them and flex her claws in them, leaving little holes and long scratches. Now, with our brand new furniture (no wood on it what-so-ever) she continues to stretch her front legs up onto it, and her claws sink right into the upholstery. You can hear pops as her claws enter and exit the fabric. Right now I can’t see any holes, but in time, I’m sure I will.
She tries to sneak outside sometimes when I let our cat out. I have learned my lesson with letting her go out in the grass! She heads straight for the green grass and eats it. Then, a few minutes or hours later, back in the house, she hacks it up…a yellow spot with the undigested grass on our WHITE carpet.
Angel also bites at our cat’s legs for no reason and likes to play, with anything! I can be hanging streamers for a birthday party and the roll will fall onto the floor. What does she do? Chases it and bats it around with her paws. I start wrapping presents, and where is Angel? She’s walking around on top of the unrolled wrapping paper and finds a nice spot in the middle of it to lay down. She also likes to climb into boxes and lay inside empty shopping bags. I can definitely relate to Dawn’s statement of cats being weird!
On the other hand, Angel can be a real sweetheart. She is the most verbal cat either of us has been around. Angel meows and makes adorable little noises under her breath a lot. She’s quiet most of the time, sleeping behind the couch, between the sliding glass patio doors and the curtain, and on the couch. She even makes her way upstairs sometimes to sleep under the warm covers of our bed. We have pictures of her sleeping all curled up, with her head leaning off the bed or couch, and on her back with her paws sticking up in the air like she’s dead or something.
As I’m writing right now she’s making her way over to me to jump up into my lap. She sits and bumps her head and nose into my chin. I can hear her gently purring. Angel is definitely a lap animal. If she sees you sitting, she will come over and get into your lap. It’s so warming and calming to rub her and have her gently stretching her paws on my arm.
Having a cat didn’t sit well with me to begin with. But now, I have to say having a cat can be kind of cool. You have an animal that sleeps most of the time, doesn’t require much as far as entertainment like cats, as is warm and soft in your lap. I have to admit, I have gotten sort of attached to our little princess Angel! Unlike awhile back, I wouldn’t even consider giving her up now! (Even though right this second she is biting at my fingers as I try to type!)
