I have two kitties, or rather two kitties own me. The first 12 years of their lives were peaches and cream, except for the whole declawing thing. I know, I know. Declawing is controversial and cruel. But so are homeless kitties out in the street, where both Spikey and Dots came from. They have their back claws and, witness my arms and face at bath time, are entirely capable of defending themselves. I digress.
Since I married life with kitties has changed. Within the first year a puppy joined the household. And they've both gotten older. At 17, they each have had a longish run in the kitty world. Dots is the sturdy one. She's been overweight from day two in my house. She was starving and had every known parasite when we found her. By the third day she was eating her entire weight in kitty Cheerios at each meal. Now she's still a chubby kitty and even with her diet food (yes, she's been on diet food for 15 years) she'll always be chubby. She's also very healthy. She visits the vet only for vaccines and annual check ups. And then there is Miss Spikey.
Firstly, she thinks she's a he. The vet still calls her "he" until he looks closely at the chart. She has a walk that is filled with bravado (not bravada). She literally swaggers. Secondly, when she was younger she began growling at the mailman, much like the dog barks at the same. I think she's decided that growling does not befit her station in life these days. And thirdly, she's a sickie poo. She suffers from a sensitive tummy. She used to break out frequently with sores on her lips and gums. I heard that it was an orange cat thing, maybe so. She's been pretty good these past few years. I think she has arthritis. She walks a bit gingerly. Of course, she's only awake for 2 hours each day. And I'm thinking of making her a sweater, though her fur seems to be thicker as she ages. Much like an old man's nose gets full of hair.
Another thing about Spikey, she doesn't really groom herself. She lets Dots do it for her. Actually, that's not such a bad thing. The less hair Spikey ingests the fewer hairballs I have to pick up. I noticed that Rosey (the former puppy, now 3 year old Pit Bull/Ridgeback mix) has taken to licking Dots. AND, Dots lets her. They seem to be bonding. It's very cute. Rosey is lean and long, Dots is squat and round. I know, you need pictures. You'll just have to image.
Rosey is knee high. She rosy brown, thin hunches, with white on her toesies. Rosey is also hyper. She can jump over 7 foot tall walls, only we haven't told her this. Thank goodness! Spikey is an orange cat, with chutzpah as I mentioned. Dots is a calico Siamese mix, and at 12 pounds she's 50% over her maximum body weight. She has the teeniest paws. They can feel like needles poking your skin. It's analogous to a 250 pound women in stilettos. There's some pain involved when a 100 pound women wears them too!
So this is the secret life of kitties. They eat, sleep, tease the dog. Oh, I forgot to mention that Spikey runs from the dog. Only she first needs Rosey's attention to make the running away worthwhile. That may be an post for another day.
