Also known as “The Tale of Fourteen Gatos”
I’ve had Fourteen cats in my lifetime. I never really considered myself a “cat person”, more of a “dog person” actually, but I’ve only had 6 dogs. The problem with dogs that is easily overcome by having a cat, is space. Dogs need to run around, and more importantly, a place to shit. Cats have a designated spot (litter box) to do their business, but dogs are harder to house train, and really just need a yard. Cats can be contained in a small apartment, or a spacious house, and either way they are pretty much self-sufficient.
My first cat wasn’t actually my cat, but for sake of arguement we’ll call him mine. My Dad actually found him and named him Teddy. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, and was pretty cool. He was a black/tan tabby. He ended up getting into fights with other neighborhood strays and eventually got sick and died. We had him at my Aunt’s house, where he stayed after we moved out, and died when I wasn’t around so I wasn’t overly sad.
When we moved, it was into my then Step-mom’s house, who already owned 3 cats. The oldest, Beau, was a grey and white cat, and he was pretty grumpy. The middle cat was named Scarlet, and she was another tabby. And the youngest, Charm, was orange and black. Charm was actually my favorite, as she was really perky, but she kept shitting all over the house and my dad ended up getting rid of her. Her replacement, an all black cat named Taz (my choosing) was pretty cool when he was a kitten, but ended up being a jerk face later on.
One day, a stray cat had some kittens near our house in some bushes. We would always try to pet them and call them over, but they would always run away. During the winter when it was pretty chilly, some of the kittens would climb up into the fan shroud of my Dad’s old Chevy truck, so he had to make an effort every morning to make sure none were in there before starting it up. One time, my Dad and I were heading out to the store in the late afternoon, and he didn’t think to look in the engine compartment this time. Of course, one of the kittens ended up in the fan shroud, and as soon as he started the truck, we heard a loud thump. He turned off the truck and we hopped out, looking underneath. There the kitten lied, apparently dead. My Dad went to the shed behind the house and got out a shovel, with which he intended to scoop up the kitten to dispose of it. When he looked under the truck, the kitten was looking back at him, wide-eyed and wild. When he attempted to get it out, it hobbled away, with what looked like a broken leg. We went to the store, but when we came back we managed to find it, nearby where it was born, and it allowed us to pick it up. We took it to the vet, and after a hefty fee and some surgery, we brought the kitten back home with a new plastic hip. She got along great, and we named her Murphy. She was a tortoise-shell, orange and black. She ended up being one of the best cats I ever had.
A couple years later, Beau died. I came home from school and he was dead on my bed. When my Dad got home he was disposed of, and we never did get a replacement for him.
Fast forward a few years. I now live in my first apartment, and I lived alone. I worked at a local car dealership as a porter. One day while bringing in a delivery of cars, I noticed a stray cat wandering around the back lot. He was multi-colored, I have no idea what breed. Not thinking much of it, I continued my work. Later that day, the cat actually approached me, and seemed like he wasn’t actually a stray, rather a house cat that either got out or was dumped. He was really cool, so after work I drove my car to the back lot and picked him up and took him home. I named him “Fieldy” since I found him in a field, and not to mention I was into the band Korn at the time. He ended up being house trained, but he was a little shy. He never really came around either, and was always trying to get out of the house. I let him out one day, but he would always come back for food. Eventually I grew tired of him, and took him to the shelter.
Later, in this same apartment my girlfriend at the time moved in with me. Her older sister had a kitten in an apartment with her boyfriend, but when they broke up, she had to get rid of it. We gladly took the kitten, whom was named Maya, another tabby. Maya was pretty cool, but she hadn’t been spayed and at one point was in heat. The sounds that cat would make drove me up the wall. Eventually I had to move, and we gave the cat to one of our neighbors who liked her more than we did.
When I lived on 7th street, there were a couple cat’s my friend’s sister had, but I’m not counting them. One of the cats ended up pregnant, and had some kittens. Out of the 6 or so in the litter, I got to choose one. I ended up with a long hair grey one, but I don’t think I ever named her. The house we lived in was owned by my friend’s mom, and she said we couldn’t keep all of those animals, so of course my friend’s sister got rid of mine when I wasn’t home. No idea if that cat would have been a good one or not.
A couple years later with my current woman, we had an apartment together. We decided we wanted to get a cat, and looked through the easy-ad to see what we could find. We decided to call on one of the ads, and had to drive to winchester to see the cat. When we got there, we fell in love. She had an all white kitten with blue eyes. We took her, and named her Marilyn (after the misfits’ mascot). I loved that cat. But we had a room mate who also had a cat, and pets weren’t allowed in these apartments. The room mate’s cat was always in the window, and eventually was seen and our landlord told us to get rid of the cat or move out. He didn’t know about ours, but we decided it wasn’t worth chancing, so we had to take them both to the shelter.
When we lived in our last house, we got another cat. We frequent a local record store that stocks most of the music I listen to, along with a lot of other cool shit. One day while shopping, we heard meows coming from the back of the store. We asked the shop owner what that was about, and she showed us four little kittens that had been born in her yard, that she was taking care of. We asked if we could have one, and she let us come back when they were ready. It was around our little one’s birthday, so we let her pick one out as a b-day gift. She picked a tabby (go figure), and named him “Batman”. We had batman for about a year. He moved with us to the house we live in now, but we had some problems with him. Ivy loved him, and always wanted to pet him, but he got a little aggresive with her, and scratched her on the face. Gina decided he had to go, so she gave him away. Before he was gone, we went to the shelter (where I had dumped many of the cats listed above), and actually adopted one we found there. A purebred Siamese. We actually decided to get him because our friend John who has two cats, got a second cat because his first seemed bored, depressed, and a little crazy. The second cat balanced him out. When we got our second cat, we named him Glenn (after Glenn Danzig, singer of the Misfits). He didn’t help balance out Batman, so Batman was gone.
Fearing that Glenn would get a little psycho, we got him a friend. One of my sister’s friends had a momma cat that had some kittens. We got one of them. This was my 13th cat, and as thus I named him Nick 13 (after the Tiger Army singer). He was black with white paws, chest and some on his face. He was still a kitten, but something came up. He got a serious eye infection, and we couldn’t figure out how. He’s now at the shelter getting medical treatment, and hopefully everything turns out ok. They took our names down, and are supposed to call us when he’s all better, and then we plan to adopt him. I liked him a lot, because he was so laid back. He never got angry, was always down to play, and he got along with everyone. Its sad that we had to say goodbye temporarily.
Aside from the cats that other people had (see the first few, before I lived on my own), most of my cats have had something wrong with them. Be it personality (or lack thereof), training issues, or whatever, I either decided the cat wasn’t for me, or it needed to be gotten rid of for extrenuous reasons. Marilyn I would still have if I could have kept her, but mostly I don’t miss many of those cats. Glenn was the first cat we’ve had that I really like, and will keep until he dies. Nick was another of those types, so I fully intend to get him back. If I had the money to pay for a vet bill, I wouldn’t have had to go about it this way, but paying adoption fees is much cheaper than vet costs. For once though, a cat chose me, and I am ok with this.
About a week ago, me and Gina were watching a movie together. We heard a cat meowing outside, and I just tried to ignore it. Gina couldn’t of course, so she went outside and found the cat, pet it, and told me how nice it was and we should let it inside. I’m not really into strays because of past experiences, so I said no. At some point while I wasn’t home, she fed it. So of course it kept coming back, and driving me nuts with its whining. A few nights ago, it found its way into our back yard, and started climbing on the screens, trying to get inside. It was pissing me off, so I went out and picked it up and threw it into the alley behind our house. The next night it was back, and it just wouldn’t leave. I was angry, and I went outside and was going to take it to the shelter right then and there. But when I saw it, and it came up and rubbed all over me, I couldn’t do it. I picked it up and it purred away. Against my better judgement, I let it in the house. At first it got crazy with the other cats (this was before we took nick to the shelter), but after a couple days she settled in, and is now our new Marilyn. She’s white with some brown and black spots, and has the same general demeanor that the original Marilyn had. So we lucked out. She was even house trained already, or she learned fast. She’s suprisingly a great cat, and I feel stupid having wanted to get rid of her.
So we have Glenn and Marilyn at the moment. Nick will be coming home soon enough, and that’s all the cats we need. But they’re all great cats, and they all get along, and they all like the kids, and that’s what matters. I don’t think I could find better friends.
