Cats

Linda's Web Site

Cats

As most of you know, I'm a dog person. I've owned dogs all my life, from the age of ten. Dogs are intensely loyal. I had a cat once, as a child. Her name was Mitzi. My momma was allergic to cats and so Mitzi lived as an outdoor cat. Nowadays they are called feral. She was a wild one. She used to bring home her kills, and lay the on the front stoop for my inspection. I had a pet hare, who got out of his pen once. Mitzi herded him up to the front stoop and let me know, guarding him like a sheep dog.  In her old age, she disappeared one day. That was my one experience of cat ownership.

Cats have never liked me, nor I them. There seems to be an innate distrust between us. My daughter has a big Main Coon named Elliot. I always refer to him as Elliot the Cat. He lures me in slowly, purring, rubbing up against my arm in the chair. Finally, I think, he must be warming up to me. I reach out and pet him slowly. Just as I begin to get comfortable with the companionship, bam! He takes a bite out of my hand. This happens almost every time we are together. It reminds me of  Lucy, holding the football for Charlie Brown. I fall for it every time. My sister has an orange cat, named Blue. He avoids me like the plague as well. 

I get a sense that cats are the owners in their relationship with humans.  Cats are the emperors, the kings, the superiors. This is not appealing to me in any way. I don't like the idea of being a servant to my pet, paying his bills, feeding him and cleaning up litter boxes, knowing he considers me to be a servant. Wild cats are magnificent. Lions are my favorite big cats.

I have  a series of little cartoons that I do now and then called Fat Cats. I use Elliot the Cat as my model. My veterinarian used to have a practice cat that was the fattest cat I've ever seen. He was one of my models too.

I'l stick with dogs.

Artists have a wonderful life.......