Ticket 2 Ride

What I know about cats. The quick answer is, not much.

Dogs need people. Cats use people. I’m not sure that’s accurate, cats can be pretty needy too.

Cats are an enigma to me: independent, moody, prickly, in their own head. People traits. Maybe that’s why I have kept my distance these many years. Until recently.

In my experience, if a cat doesn’t like something – adios, they are gone. A dog doesn’t like something, an object is about to be destroyed. Separation anxiety. Very different reactions. Cats enjoy when you are gone. When the door closes behind you, they say to themselves, “finally!” Dogs are ready to send out search parties immediately. If you notice a cat looking out the window as you drive away, they are making sure you are really going, so they can rummage through your wardrobe. Dogs give you the full melancholy performance, the sad eyes are heart-wrenching.

I married in a cat and dog family. We have a male, black cat, and a female, calico cat – as different as night and day. That complicates my generalizations. The calico can’t get enough love or attention from humans; gentle, clingy and a lover. The black cat is mischievous, standoffish, easily overstimulated, and will bite you. Both are rescue cats from the same area, but apparently different experiences.

Mimi, the calico, has developed a new routine. Morning and nighttime, she jumps up on the tall dresser, so she’s face to face with you, then walks back and forth rubbing her face against mine, often forcefully. She will wait patiently at first, then begins meowing with increasing loudness until you come to her.

Harry, the black cat, enters and leaves according to his mood, demanding love, then quickly withdrawing the invite with a nip of your hand. He has a history of waking my wife by loudly dumping things from the dresser onto the floor, unspooling toilet paper, pushing thing from the bathroom counter to the floor – then looking around the corner to see if he’s succeeded in waking her.

Neither of these cats have much to say, although Mimi will meow if she encounters a closed door, which she does at night. We learned that to get a decent night of sleep, the cats must be prohibited from the bedroom. Mimi has more volume than one would guess from a small cat. Harry just enjoys commanding a room as he is known for announcing himself with a loud meow in case we have failed to stand at attention when he enters.

I read that a cat with a straight, almost vibrating tail means that she is extremely happy to see you. The same in people relationships.

Cats sleep a lot, 16 hours a day on average. Slightly more than the average retiree. Our cats seem very nocturnal; I swear they overturn the living room furniture at night and get into my liquor. They also rifle around in my CD collection, scattering my Cat Stevens albums and hiding my Al Stewart Year of the Cat CD.

Harry and Mimi both love Charlie the big dog. He generally puts up with their rubbing against him, walking under him, and trying to curl up next to him. He is silent as they try to love him, although he looks to me for help. Charlie is our U.N. Peacekeeper, ready to jump in when the cats have a disagreement.

Life is never dull with two cats and a dog. I used to believe that I was shaping their behavior, but that’s a farce because they are really training me. Charlie thinks I have potential, but the cats know differently.

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The Mike File is me talking about me, or things personal to me.