Animal House

If you think about it, having a cat or a dog roam freely around your house is kinda insane... if there was a squirrel or a woodchuck in your kitchen you'd scream and grab a broom. If there was a wolf or a tiger in your bathroom you'd call 911.

But if Spot or Frisky or Mr. Peebles was at the foot of your bed or at the door when you got home you'd be thrilled... what's the difference? It's gotta be the fact that cats and dogs are cute, right? Otherwise, your house would be pretty much animal free..

As a child our family had many pets... there were always cats and dogs and birds and turtles and rabbits around... when one passed away we'd just go get another one... and then as an adult I selfishly didn't think I had the time or the patience or the whatever to be a pet owner... but figured one day when I had a house I'd go back to it... but months turned to years.... years to decades... and as I was nearing 40 I thought I'd probably not get a house (or a wife), so why not a cat or a dog to keep me company... but I never got around to going to a shelter or Dumb Friends League (a name I've always hated) or the Humane Society...

Then TVGal emailed me for the first time and just like that I had a cat (by proxy) again... her cat was inexplicably named Yellow Kitty because it was.. you know.. yellow. (Tan actually, but why quibble?) I added the name "TVCat" over the years but it didn't stick like Yellow Kitty... but that's okay... he was really just Kitty most of the time....

Kitty wasn't super affectionate, but he'd pick his spots... My friend Matt has two cats.. one of them is as friendly as a stripper, the other spends 363 days a year under a bed... our cat fell in between somewhere... but I liked him all the more for it.. I didn't worry about going to work and leaving him alone.. I always thought it suited him just fine...

He liked to play the aloof card a lot, but I surmised it was an act... ironically it was a big heart that took him from us..

Kitty passed away today at 1:22pm...

The last couple of days have sucked.. and the last few hours ten times so... and as I sniffle and type I realize that as crappy as TVGal and I feel right now, it's a small price to pay for what you get in return...

For what you get in return, it's a steal....

Rest in peace little guy...

__________________________
Dogs have masters. Cats have staff.
--Anonymous