You have often heard me mention my two housecats. Yes, we live in a cat house. The black and white kitty is big enough to tackle anything twice her size. She occasionally darts outside when the door opens and I have three outside cats who ran like gazelle’s about the first fifty times or so. Now, it depends on the “no blinking” to see if she will run from the three of them or they run from her.

Cats definitely have personalities. Sassy, the tuxedo cat, is like the Big E. I saw the carrier pull out from the dock in Frisco once. My oldest son, George, was preparing to leave on the Monticello LSD just across the dock from the Big E and we were there to see him off. Of course all eyes were looking for George……the way the sailors line up on both sides of the ship is tremendously inspiring.

My peripheral vision picked up something moving behind me. It was the Big E silently and slowly leaving port. What a powerful ship. We watched her until she sailed under the Golden Gate bridge and out of sight. We took turns looking at the Monticello and finding George until his ship sailed out into the Pacific and beyond.

OK….I digress. My point was Sassy is like the Big E…..silent and powerful, a real warrior. I wondered what would happen when another stray came along and eventually able to come into the house. Punkin was delicate and skinny…..her past was easy to figure out. Besides being hungry she was fearful and would only come to the porch to eat after I went inside. She was such a cast-off….orange and black little thing, just plain ugly.

She would run away when another stray came up to the porch to eat. Although I had enough bowls for all she was afraid of the other cats and me too, actually. In time she became tamer as my pattern never varied. Enough bowls were put out for everybody and fear left her a little at a time.

She has developed into a sweetheart. Her personality has blossomed and she has put on healthy weight. The Vet did all the necessary things to make her life better and now she is a happy resident.

Sassy? Well, she became a mother with Punkin and took care of her like a newborn. They are buddies and they think my bed is theirs…….I like to let them think so.

Have you petted a kitty today?

Essentially Esther