Yesterday I vacuumed underneath my dresser for the first time in obviously too long and was startled to discover a treasure trove of the animal’s most prized possessions:
Both of our cats are indoor cats. We live too close to busy roads to even consider letting our cats be outdoor cats. There is no question that indoor cats live longer, healthier lives than outside cats. Besides, we always say that Archie is too dumb to be an outdoor cat. He would probably nap in the middle of the road, thinking the warm pavement was the perfect place for a snooze. Once in awhile, we will take Archie outside and hold him in our arms. We could never do this with Baby Titten as she hates to be held and we would be scratched to heck. Lately, we have taken him out on the deck and sat him in our laps, where he is fairly content to hang out. Unfortunately, now every time we sit on the deck, he waits at the slider and cries his head off while desperately digging at the door the entire time we are within his sight. This is better now that it has been warmer and we have had the air on, only because we can’t hear him cry. Because we don’t always respond, and because he has decided he loves the fresh air, he has taken to “escaping.” Today, while I was letting the dogs inside, he made a dash for it (and by dash, I really mean a slow stroll). Dixie was on the porch and went after him and pinned him to the porch, holding him there until I could pick him up, as though she knew he wasn’t supposed to be outside. Once inside where she continued to punish him by trying to smash him to the floor and lecturing him by making this strange grumbling complaining sound. For the record, I did not condone the smashing (we never condone smashing of the cats), although she was successful once. She definitely has a mind of her own.
Dixie shows off the spring in her step… OK, yes, that was a really lame attempt at a pun. But it is true that Dixie is happier than I have seen her in years. She has had 3 stone-free X-rays since February’s surgery. Her energy level is through the roof. And we couldn’t be happier.
For the next week or so I will be sharing some of our favorite memories about each one of our little pack. Today is Dixie’s turn, and although she has only been with us since last October, we have known her since she was about 3 months old. This is our first meeting.
We came home for Christmas one year and stayed with family. They had just gotten Dixie, and she was all of about 3 pounds. She was this tiny, white fluffball with a huge, fluffy tail and just about the cutest thing I had ever seen. We loved her instantly. Jackson, however, was not so sure. He felt threatened by this little wee thing. He decided to show her who’s boss, ran up to her and snapped right in her face. She immediately began to yipe, “Aye Yie Yie Yie Yie Yie Yie” over and over again. I was horrified, thinking that Jackson had hurt her. Jackson panicked, ran across the room to the farthest corner away from her and punished himself by laying down in the closet. Turns out, Dixie was not hurt, she was just scared and Jack’s bravado was blown.
And so was the beginning of a long love affair. Don’t get me wrong, he hated her for the rest of the week. Several months later, we moved in while we built a house nearby. He kept the pretense up. But little by little, he began to weaken until he grudgingly found himself liking her. In the beginning, he would only play with her outside, when no one was watching. Then, when we were all downstairs, they would chase each other all over the upstairs. He thought he was hiding this from us since we couldn’t see him, but he didn’t realize that we could hear them. Gradually, they began to play in front of us until they could no longer contain their excitement and love for one another. Now they absolutely adore each other, and I am sure Jackson is happy that Dixie has come to live with us.
