My friends and I used to joke about our fears of one day becoming the eccentric cat lady in our old age. So when my roommate said she wanted to get a kitten last year, I was less than enthusiastic at first. Not because I don’t love animals, but because I am more of a dog person.
Dogs have personality and spunk. They are energetic and loyal and can even save your life as Lassie demonstrated time and time again. From the time I was just an infant, there has always been a dog romping around my parents’ house. The story goes I picked out our first dog, Cocoa, from the shelter. With her stubby tail, the beagle and Springer spaniel mix was like a best friend. Buddy, our second dog, was dopey and adorable and as a result, he earned the nickname “Buddy, Buddy Bo-Bo.” My parents currently own Zoey is an obnoxious yellow Labrador retriever who loves to swim more than she loves to eat, if that’s possible.
We owned two cats during my childhood and although I loved them, I don’t have vivid memories of teaching them tricks, taking them for walks, or chasing them to retrieve my shoe from their mouths. Mostly I remember the cats being wrapped up in their own little world and their visible annoyance when anyone tried to interact with them at an inopportune time.
So when I came home one evening after my roommate and I had purchased the cat from the shelter and saw him standing with hair raised and back arched on the kitchen counter, doubt set in. When he started hissing, fear set in. After a few days, however, he became more comfortable and actually began walking around the house while we were there.
Nearly a year later, he still doesn’t have a real name. He’s known simply as “Kitty” and he answers to it. Everyone that sees him remarks on his size. He’s what I would call a big boned cat, with large kangaroo legs. His white paws, resembling boots, make his legs look even more comical.
Now instead of coming home to see him standing on the kitchen counter, I will find him sitting on his tail and hind legs like a pointy-eared Buddha. I swear I even saw him cross his legs once. We now call this stance his “sitting like a human” pose.
Kitty constantly proves me wrong by demonstrating he has plenty of personality. Maybe too much. I’m convinced he knocked down our Christmas tree and his late night bursts of energy keep me awake as he races around an invisible track in the living room. He is constantly jumping on my bed with a yelp and stepping all over my laptop, causing open programs to disappear. If I try to close my bedroom door, he sits outside and scratches the door until I open it and pay attention to him.
So I may be one step closer to becoming a cat lady someday, but seeing the little creature look up at me from his wise, Buddha stance, might just be worth it.
–Amanda Estes