Three cats are sleeping in the area where I write my blogs. They look so peaceful and contented. Don’t you wish we could give off vibes like that? I often envy my pets with their daily existence and wonder what might be going through their brains. They know us very well. Cats and dogs are very tuned in to our feelings.

They have taught me a lot as I watch them watching me. The expression on my face is a good indicator to them for what I am thinking. I have tried to teach them to stay off kitchen counters, the table where we eat and so on. When we are gone they do as they like and even much of the time when we are home. I have a spray bottle that is good for attitude adjustment. When I order them off the table and I mean business they leave immediately…however, sometimes I sound rather undecided and they wait to see just how serious I am. If there is any doubt, the spray bottle clears the room.

It’s odd because when they were kittens I could douse them until they were sopping wet. Didn’t matter…..they continued on their mission. Sometime during their teens (in kitty years) they get the idea that it is not cool to be sprayed…I suppose the look on my face began to register as well. After maturity, it has become humiliating to be sprayed….for one reason, the other cats laugh a lot when the offending cat gets “the bottle.”

When I was a little girl staying at grandma’s a lot, cats were my only playmates. They were pressed into being my buddies and endured all kinds of disgrace because I treated them like dolls. They were wrapped in blankets and put in my doll buggy…it amazed my aunt Mary that the cats just laid there and never attempted getting out. I suppose I grew to know cats very well. We have a way of passing thoughts to one another.

People who don’t like cats have all kinds of reasons for not liking them. The most common is that they are too independent. They are not….if you spend any time with them at all. Any pet who is brought home, dumped on the floor and never given any time except to feed them is going to learn to “go it alone.” I can always tell the pets who are talked to and bonded with their owners. If treated with respect, given play times, good food and exercise you will have a friend like no other.

Cats are very individual, just like people. Their personalities make them very distinctive and I for one, like that. They are not “cookie cutter” companions. Their main desire in life is to be with you, on you, near you, by you, in front of you….well, you get my point. They are very ‘hands on’ pets. The one thing that cats do is leave little reminders around to let you know they’ve been there. Hair and their toys. A toy is anything considered playful by the cat. Bottle caps, string, boxes, paper, they can make fun out of anything handy. It doesn’t have to come from the local pet store.

Cats fascinate me. I am amazed how they can thread their way around a table in the living room with a coffee cup, magazine, figurines….and never touch them. They are so agile and quiet. Almost like a thought on feet. Intangible and yet so available….a soft bit of fur wrapped around one of God’s most patient creatures.

I am owned by Morris, a ginger stripped male, Tuffy, a gray stripped male, Missy, a black female, Sassy, a black and white young female and Callie, a young Calico female. They give me their love in abundant doses and ask very little. They just want to be with me. I like that.

Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther