Cat Trouble

Remember those cute pictures I posted showing our new kitty, Rowdy? Those pictures were quite adorable, but it didn't take us long to learn Rowdy was only cute in a picture, in real life he was quite simply the devil cat.

Given the events of the past few days, the other night I was sitting in my easy chair wondering how in the world I got myself into serious cat trouble. That's when I realized it was my thought process that was to blame. See, in the beginning I thought, "Since it's winter and about the stupidest time ever to get a cat, I think I'll get one!" And here I am.

After getting a cat and realizing it's too cold for him outside, Rowdy came to live sanctuar-ied in my bathroom. I hate cats in the house --- imagine that, and everyday my cute little cat grew to fit his name more and more. I soon got tired of him clawing up and down my legs every time I was standing at the bathroom sink trying to beautify myself so I started locking him up in my shower where a clear panel of glass protected me from any further shredding.

Now this is the part where you may well remember the story about the day the sun was shinning and I being a little tired of Rowdy's torture, decided to familiarize him with the great outdoors. Do you remember this story? That's when Rowdy went for a ride in the engine of Aubree's car and lived to tell about it. Back then he was little and cute and somewhat likeable when he wasn't attacking anyone so we were basically happy and amazed he made it through the whole fan belt ordeal.

We soon found though, the longer Rowdy lived with us, the meaner he got. Spending time outside therefore became a ritual. I'd get tired of his antics and throw him out the door. Usually though, when the sun started to fade,  I'd take pity on him and let him back in. I also made it a point to took him inside every time I went away. This process of tending to the cat every day grew old fast. My goal was fixed however, I was trying to make it through the winter with him shut up in my bathroom until he could take full residency outside.

Christmas time only made things worse. With the wedding and all, the whole month was a frantic rush around my house and in all the commotion one day I forgot to put Rowdy back inside before I left to go shopping. That night, just after I had returned home, I heard Glade talking to our neighbor on the phone. Suddenly, I heard Glade ask "You want to know where my cat is?" In a split second I realized I had left Rowdy outside all day and now it was dark. Before I even opened up the back door to run and find him, I knew exactly what the end of this story was going to be. My neighbor has two big Huskies, and one of them has a serious cat killing problem!

After all the tears, the apologies, the burial, and what have you, I returned inside the house only to find Deserey laughing. "Our cat died, and you're laughing," I said to her. I smote her with my eyes and left to sob in my study for the next ten minutes. That's about how long my grief for Rowdy lasted. The next day when I was telling Gavin about my sorted tale, he asked me if I wanted to take Cleveland (Rowdy's brother.)  "Hell no," I said. "I'm cat free!" I'm stupid but I'm not that stupid!

My neighbor Jason, is the best neighbor ever! People kept asking me if I was mad that his dog killed my cat. "Nope," I'd quickly reply, and I meant it too. Jason and Papina are the greatest neighbors anyone could ever dream of and I even love their big fury dogs! Zoey, the notorious cat killer is a gem of a dog. She's a Siberian Husky, and while she likes to be on the go a lot, she fits right in with Geronimo, she's his best friend and they romp together everyday. She has the sweetest temperament ever, she doesn't kill cats in anger, she just plays with them to death!

Well, being the great neighbors they are, Christmas day the whole family showed up at my back door with a new cat for us. Desi pulled the cute little kitten out of the box admiring her red bow that was tied around her neck. She looked exactly like Rowdy (which gave us a shudder.) Desi quickly named her Jingles in honor of the yuletide season. While I wasn't sure I really wanted another cat, we soon learned Jingles was a lot nicer than Rowdy, trouble is, we have discovered she's not much smarter.

She's a female cat so I'm guessing that's why she never shuts up! This cat can "Meow" from sun up till sun down. It is driving us all crazy! I've threatened to put her outside with Zoey. Nothing shuts her up, till yesterday that is. Yesterday I'm sitting in my study and I'm listening to her carry on in my bathroom downstairs when suddenly her constant meowing turns to panicked meowing. I sat in my chair for a minute and listened and then I decided to venture downstairs and see what the problem was.

When I opened up the bathroom door the steam was so dense I couldn't see a thing. I cut my way through the fog, opened the shower door where I could hear water running, only to find Jingles hanging by her claws to my green netted loofah sponge while the scalding hot water poured down on her. Just as I went to grab her she fell into the hot smoking cesspool you see featured below and as soon as she lit, she flew from the murky pool grateful to have found safety.

What a mess! It took me forever to clean it all up. I'm glad she didn't jump up and turn the scalding hot water on while I was gone. I thanked the good Lord immensely that my house was quiet and I sat listening to her upstairs. Oh the scenarios I came up with in my head if I had been gone when it all happened. She would have died a horrible death not to mention my house would have been flooded. I am happy this story has a good ending. Jingles is much quieter now. I think she's made a Freudian connection between meowing and hot water. Thank goodness!

Moral of the story:

 Getting a cat in the winter is about as dumb as locking it up in the shower!
THE END!    

Anyone want a free cat?