I’m sitting here, at my desk, pecking the keys, slowly but steadily (not
surely as some of you may have
thought I would write), on the On-Screen Keyboard because my 14-year-old cat is
stretched out across the front of the desk, blocking my access to the tangible
keyboard. Obviously, using the unreachable keyboard would make typing this post
so much easier; however, I will not disturb Moky just so I can jot down a few
thoughts. Just as soon as I finished this first paragraph, Moky left the desktop. Now, I can use the real keyboard to type my entry.
I have three cats: Moky (14 years old), Gypsy (13 years old), and Stormy
(5 years old). I used to have four cats. The fourth cat was Bella. She died
last November from the feline leukemia virus. She was not yet two years old
when she died.
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| Bella |
The three cats I have now have their own quirks. Those are what make my
cats unique. My cats make my life enjoyable. They also make my life healthier. [For
further reading, try this website on the benefits of having cats: http://mritechnicianschools.net/2010/17-health-benefits-of-owning-a-cat.]
Cats, generally, are healthy for humans. A purring cat creates a
contented atmosphere, for both the cat and the human. I love when Gypsy lies on
my lap because she purrs from the moment she steps onto my lap to the moment
she falls asleep. Of the three cats I have, Gypsy has the loudest and most prevailing
purrs.
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| Gypsy |
Cats have a healing power to them. Gypsy’s warmth is especially
comforting to me when she lies down next to me while I’m trying to fall asleep.
I call her my feline heating pad
because while I’m lying on my side, Gypsy will snuggle next to me, purring and
emitting a profound warmth.
When I am feeling blue or stressed, Stormy comes to my aid. She is the
one who senses my sadness the most. When Bella died, Stormy often came to me,
as if to see how I was doing or feeling. She would come up to me and look me in
the eye. This was her way of seeking acknowledgement from me. I would look at
her and say, “Hi, Stormy!” Then, she would rub her face against my hand and
lick my arm. Stormy is my hugger. When she needs me, I usually also need her.
She walks on my lap, and I say, “Stormy! Give me a hug!” Then, she stands so
that her left side is facing me, and I wrap my arms around her and give her a
hug. She does not squirm or run away when I do this. She is a big cat, which is
why I love giving her hugs (weighing in at 12 pounds at the last vet visit in
November 2012).
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| Stormy |
I am a patient and optimistic person. I think my cats have helped me
with those two traits. Moky can be the most annoying because of his constant
“talking,” but he has taught me patience, ten-fold. His idiosyncrasies include
talking, kneading everything except scratching posts (including sneakers if I
let him), batting cardboard box flaps (and vertical blinds), and trying to get
into my drinking glass (I keep a lid on my drinking glass to keep Moky out of
it).
Moky loves to be groomed, and his favorite “tool” is the lint roller. I
think he’s attracted to the sticky part of the lint sheets on the roller. He’s
also a nut for the packaging tape on boxes. I do my best to keep him from
getting to that kind of adhesive because I don’t know if it’s good for him
(erring on the side of caution). When I groom the cats, Moky’s the first in
line. I usually start grooming him with a brush, and then, I move to a grooming glove
(bristled just for pet grooming). The last tool I use is the lint roller. I
don’t let Moky sniff the roller because I know he’s trying to get at the
adhesive on the lint roller sheets. Moky would prefer I groom only him as he
tries to worm his way into my grooming of Stormy and Gypsy. I guess that is
another quirk Moky has.
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| Moky |
