[Stormy in the "wild olive?" tree]
I loved Queen the rock band, particularly Freddy Mercury, who used to strut his stuff with much aplomb. Brian May was also extremely talented. Queen did several songs for movies. The most notable song from the movie called the Highlander was called, “Who wants to live forever?”, this song was composed by Brian May. The movie was not a commercial success but Christopher Lambert who featured in the film as the main character, was launched to stardom when the movie achieved cult status over time. There were several great songs from the same movie and another song that was nearly as great was entitled “Masters of the Universe”. The theme of the film was about a race of immortal warriors who fought duels. The one warrior who ended up chopping off the heads of all the other warriors would achieve mastery of the human race.
Well unlike those fictional characters, my family and I are indeed subject to masters, maybe they aren’t masters of the whole universe but they are certainly masters of our universe, the universe of my family. I am talking about the cats who rule our home and subject each one of us to their merest whim. I shall elaborate...
The world is divided into two parts; those who love dogs and those who love cats. Usually, either category of animal lover will “hate” the other category. My boss, who is a hunter of note, would happily dispatch any member of the feline specie, big or small. I dare not divulge such sensitive information, to protect my boss from Michele, my dear companion, a dangerous woman when angered, she has both red hair and mixed Germanic/Italian origins. I shall leave this topic hastily…
The dog is indeed man’s best friend (those who have horses and other companions from the animal world will certainly not agree with my grand overriding opinion but this is my blog). The dog will do their absolute best to please their owners, they will often be prepared to give their lives to protect those they love. However, on the other side of this spectrum of love, is the cat. The cat will expect you to give your life to it in service and devotion. The cat’s whim is your command!
As is said, if an alien were to look down on earth and observe humanity, they would certainly believe that cats and dogs are the superior specie, with us humans feeding, pampering these creatures and even picking up their poop.
When Michele and I got married back in the mists of the dawn of time, we started our love affair with all creatures. First, it was budgies, then we included cats, dogs and ultimately children. Our philosophy was to inoculate and sterilise all of our pets. Go to the vet as required, it is one's moral responsibility. Michele always personifies her pets, not front legs but "arms", not claws but "nails", not pads under the paws, but "toe beans", this was mildly annoying to me in the beginning. Pets certainly train you in how to deal with children.
I will begin our tale only going back about ten years or so.
Good friends of ours had a beautiful Persian, sadly her morals were not as noble as her pedigree and a litter attested to this fact. Michele took two of the beasties and the girls gave them the most original of names, Teddy and Baby. Really??? Couldn't their imaginations do better than that? A year or so later, poor Baby contracted cat aids and died, leaving Teddy behind.
[the most loved of all our cats Teddy]
Well-meaning friends of my eldest daughter, gave her a kitten for her birthday to be a friend to Teddy. I was not charmed but what could I do? Thus, Kyoko joined our family. She became attached to Teddy and they were inseparable, Kyoko used to lick Teddy until his fur was dripping.
Michele loved this cat, she would walk around the house with Teddy draped around her neck. She could almost do anything to the beast, until he reached the end of his patience, then he would bite Michele seriously.
[beloved companions, Teddy and Kyoko]
[Irritated, go get a doll!]
AGAIN the same friends gave Tanith another cat!! Now this was it! NO MORE CATS!!! The third cat was named Astro, but he was the 3rd wheel, if he dared to approach Kyoko, she hissed at him with hatred. She never liked Astro and Teddy ignored him too. Poor Astro has developed serious psychological problems as a result, he now sleeps probably 22 to 23 hours per day, and is easily offended.
!
[Astro in full makeup]
[the daily struggle of finding 23 hours to sleep]
Years later Teddy started panting, we were concerned so we took him to the vet, only to be told the horrific news that Teddy had an enlarged heart and had two to three days left to live. We were devastated, and could scarcely believe it! Teddy must have known his time was short because he followed Michele around and would not leave her side. True to the vet’s dire predictions, Teddy died. We buried him in the yard and made a grave for him, even now, years later, I still get tears in my eyes.
Kyoko then went missing for 3 to 4 days, we searched everywhere. Eventually Michele found her hiding in long grass outside the property. She was unkept and kept meowing in the most dreadful tone, I had never experienced an animal mourning for another. She passed away a few years later, but never allowed Astro near her.
My eldest Tanith was at university, when some of her male friends approached her about a kitten they had found in the veldt near their res. They gravely asked her if she was willing to give Nancy a home. They had taken the kitten to the vet for initial injections but medicine was so demanding a career to study, that they were unable to give the proper attention to the kitten. They knew that Tanith was very interested in the kitten. Tanith kept asking us to take the kitten but I was not keen. Astro was happy being the only cat in the home and this would cause major disruptions. Eventually I relented and agreed to give the kitten a home. Not so fast! The guys created a WhatsApp group and we had to pledge to keep them up to date with the kitten’s development. Also injections had to be kept current. We agreed to these terms. When asked why name a boy cat Nancy? The response was that they thought it was a girl cat. But you guys are studying medicine? Surely you can determine gender? The response was they couldn’t as it was too fluffy down there! So Nancy arrived in his wicker cage accompanied with his catnip flavoured toys.
[anxious kitten (Nancy) in a new home]
As predicted by me, Astro hated the fact that there was another cat in the house. Being a cat, Nancy followed him around all the time, as you probably know, if a cat is disliked by man or beast, the cat will be obsessed with being friends! Now Astro was miserable, what can we do? Get a friend for Nancy is the solution! Thus Stormy joined the family. A grey kitten, and again gender was an issue; we wanted a boy but gender was unable to be determined and we ended up with a female. She is quite eccentric, she might even be mentally challenged (there are many famous leaders do just fine with such a handicap! No names mentioned will be mentioned, but I will wink! hint hint) Eventually Astro came to accept these intruders into his house and now they even sleep together on the same bed.
The two of them are inseparable and many moments of extreme cuteness have been captured on camera. They are cats and some luckless birds are caught on occasion and been consumed. All part of nature I suppose. They live a life of luxury and devoted servants are at hand to attend to their merest whim.
[in relaxed mode]
[seems to enjoy the old classic "Singing in the Rain"]
[what the hell is taking you so long????]
[I am the first to receive an official cuddle]
[the sinful delights of stolen treats]
(Pals)
[the first kill - Nancy proud to have Astro inspecting]