It was a long day so when I sat down in my favorite chair and a cat jumped in my lap, I was really enjoying the long sigh that escaped from my lips as Boo started to purr. “Ahhhhhhh” I could hear it in my head, the sound of winding down, that whisper that captures all the stress and tension of the day and dissolves it with the touch of soft fur and the gentle sound of a feline engine.
And then “whoomp,” a flash of fur, the padding of four little feet, a leap in the air and all 25 pounds of fluffy dog lands on the arm of my chair. He is jealous, my Scruffy, he can’t stand seeing a cat on my lap. So he reacts in a normal thoughtful way. He scrambles onto the chair, turns himself around gracefully, and plants his butt squarely on the back of the cat.
Boo probably weighs 12 pounds. She’s a pretty solid cat but no match for Scruffy who is twice her size. I’m sitting there frozen on my chair because I’m pretty darn sure the claws are coming out and I’m the lady whose legs will be bleeding when it’s over. But no, Boo never moves, she just sits there, letting Scruffy sit on her back, purring away as if she doesn’t have a care in the world.
Scruffy looks at me with the “there, I showed her” expression on his face, convinced he is king of the world and certainly king of my world.
I like to tell myself that Scruffy is jealous because he loves me so much, but the truth of the matter is, he probably acts like this because he’s spoiled beyond belief and is afraid the cat might get the last lick of ice cream from the bowl or the last bite of sandwich. My heart feels the love but Scruffy’s little brain craves the treats.
Every once in a while I get this wild notion that I’d love to have another pet, most likely another cat, and then I realize that while my cats understand and accept Scruffy’s wildly jealous behavior, another cat might react a little differently. It might not be too pretty if a new pet was sitting on my lap and Scruffy decided to make a cat sandwich out of her. So maybe Scruffy has won this battle and made his point.
You, on the other hand, don’t have a Scruffy dog, so you might be in a position to rescue a kitty, or bring a loving canine companion into your home, and if you are, the shelter is the place to go.
Recently a family from the southern part of the state with over 50 cats had health issues that forced them to give up their animals. The state stepped in to assist and Houlton Humane agreed to take six of the cats and one dog. Shelters all over the state stepped forward and all the kitties have been removed from the home and are now undergoing veterinary evaluation and treatment and will be in isolation for a little while.
The stress of removing this many animals from a home will often result in them coming down with upper respiratory infections, similar to a human cold or flu, so these cats need time to calm down and be pampered, treated if they do become ill, and then made available for adoption.
If you would like to help with these animals or any of the shelter pets, give Heather a call at 532-2862. She can let you know what’s available for adoption. We have several dogs, bunnies and lots of cats and soon will have kittens. Or if you are able, stop by the shelter, which is open Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you’ve never been, the directions are, go out the Ludlow Road (past Wal-Mart), take your second right-hand turn onto the Callaghan Road and go a mile in, the shelter is on your right.
