Katie and Mea Culpa

I had a nice, quiet, relaxing weekend while house sitting / Kitty sitting for my vacationing parents. Kitty was my first cat. An old and dear friend gave him to me when I moved into the first of many tiny apartments in Philly more than a decade ago.

Kitty has the heart of an explorer and the courage of a warrior – he was not scared on moving day — he never tried to hide in a closet or somewhere small; instead, he would puff-up and sternly march along the perimeter from room to room with his tail held up like a flag. He is, and will forever be, a superb Alpha Male. However, he didn’t like living in the city (at least not in a 800 sq foot flat many stories above the ground) Kitty was indoor/outdoor until he came to me at age 3. Being declawed didn’t interfere with his snake wrangling and mousing success.

A few years ago, I temporarily moved home and put all of my stuff into storage in my parent’s attic, and in a very short time, my parents fell hopelessly in love with Kitty. And he loved them, and their spacious house, right back. Kitty purrs like a loud diesel engine and loves belly rubs and chin scratches – he will gladly return the favor by grooming your hair (usually while you sleep).

Not long after settling in, an Evil kitty wandered close to the house -! A CHALLENGE! Kitty puffed his long furs, screamed bloody murder, hissing, spitting, and beat on the glass mightily in effort to GET THE EVIL TRESPASSER. We had never, ever seen such a ferocious display of aggression‼ It was like watching a feline version of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Long after the Evil Intruder was gone, Kitty vigilantly stood watch, and just to be sure the message was understood – other cats are Not Welcome – he pee’d on two sofas and an arm chair! It was far from funny at the time, but we get a good laugh out of it now…

Icon was the complete opposite – although he did not care for other cats, he could tolerate them as long as he was given lots of space. I’ll tell you a story about a funny thing Icon did the weekend we moved into this house, but it will have to wait.