My Memories of Owning Cats

I have absolutely no happy memories of owning a cat. The first cat that comes to mind, “Smokey”. He is the only cat that I can recall ever really loving. He was solid gray, with one small, white spot on his right, front paw. He had beautiful, green eyes that sparkled, like emeralds.

He did not shed, he did not lick me with that rough tounge, that cats have. He did not meow constantly. He was a loving lap cat.

Well, my mother fed him some fresh tuna that my uncle had caught in Virginia Beach. “Smokey” went missing, and after two days of searching, my neighbor called. They had found him in their barn. He was deathly sick. He would not eat or drink anything. I had to have him put to sleep. Actually, my parents did. I was only twelve.

That broke my heart. I swore that I would not ever get another cat.

I would never be able to find one like “Smokey”.

Years later, I was in my second marriage. I had two children and pregnant with my third. We decided to get the kids a kitten. I wanted a long-haired, Persian-like cat, with blue eyes. My now ex-husband, found the cutest little kitten. We named her “Sassy“. I fell in love with her until…
She would not use the litter box. She meowed constantly. She clawed my couch and my screen door. Worst of all, she had fleas. My apartment was overtaken with them. I took her to the SPCA.

At that point, I knew I would never own another cat. I would try a dog the next time I got a pet.

My children and I, during my divorce, moved in with my sister and her family. And of course, they had three cats. “Cleo “only had three legs. One had been removed after being ran over by a cow. Ouch.

“Midnight” is a beautiful, short-haired, black cat with green eyes. She meows all the time. Enough to drive someone crazy.

“PussPuss”, now I really liked him. He had the demeanor that “Smokey” had. He was funny. He would sit on his butt, like a dog begging. He was really cool, for a cat.

Now, me and my children live in the country with my significant other. We have a little dog named “Dixie”.

Every now and then, when I glance out my bedroom window, there is a cat sitting in my flower bed. He/she is solid gray with green eyes, just like “Smokey”.