by Nanette Piotrowski

Created on: July 08, 2008   Last Updated: May 04, 2010

I am an animal lover pure and simple. I have dogs, donkeys and all the occasional critters that wander through my property. My cats, however, are the joy of my life. I originally had three cats for 18 years until my vile husband poisoned them all; he's dead now too, which is poetic justice in my book. I have rescued many an unwanted animal from certain death.

I had been working for a farmer who had a mamma and four kittens in his attic and he wanted me to get the kittens and drown them in his stock pond while he shot the mamma. Well, I'm here to tell you that wasn't going to fly with me. I brought them home much to the chagrin of my one surviving tom, Mao. Mao weighs 21 pounds and is the king of all he surveys, so this was not going to be an easy task. I introduced Mao to Mamma, who was only 4 pounds and the war was on. After replacing the shredded curtains and picking up the over-turned furniture, I realized Mao was going to have to be king of my bedroom.

A year later, I was helping a lady renovate her restaurant when I saw a snow white Persian just hanging around. I asked the lady who it belonged to and was told the stray had been around a long time. Several days later, my gut was telling me something was wrong and I asked the lady to meet me at her building. Sure enough, the poor cat had been locked in there for four days. When I brough him home, things did not go well. Mammas four kittens, now alot older, descended on (Hank Snow) fondly called Poo, and WWIII began. I don't have curtains on the windows anymore and I am considering bolting the furniture to the floor.

I decided that the four kittens would be sentenced to Siberia in the guest room where there is no longer very much wallpaper left on the walls. Poo can now live happily out from under the recliner, or so I thought. I decided it would be a good idea to have Mao meet Poo, so when I went into the bedroom to get him, little knowing that Poo had decided to use the litterbox. Here he is doin his business when Mao spots him. Poo never had a clue what hit him. Litter and both Poo and poo went everywhere. Have you ever tried to grab something in the midst of flying debris? I grabbed Mao and tossed his hinney back in the bedroom and retrieved Poo from under the recliner and neither shall the twain ever meet again.

I eventually let the four kittens out of the guest room and replaced the wallpaper. After a few days Poo and the kittens got along famously until....

The one kitten that I had saved from a bobcat came in. Now mind you, the mammas four kittens and the Persian are all over the age of 2 now, so for a kitten to be in the mix is quite entertaining. She is fearless and even though they are 10 times her size, she will stand on her hind legs and welcome all comers to a boxing match. I think she believes she is an attack kitty because nothing and no one is safe. If she wants your food, it's hers-your toy, it's hers-your sleeping spot, it's hers; she's a hoot.

Dogs of course will play and do tricks, but a cat is a never-ending supply of imagination. They will think out and reason a strategy for just about everything that they do. A dog will give unconditional love, but so too will a cat. So if you're considering a pet get a cat, or two, or what the heck, eight and remember to take down the curtains and secure all movable objects. Just a tip worth remembering.

I am permanently disabled now, due to my husband, and my cats are my life-line to sanity. I think to a certain extent they understand my pain and loneliness; why else would they all vie for a spot on my lap? To be honest, I don't know what I'd do without them. I guess I would be one very lonely old lady.

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