Furry Family Members

Our book, Telling Tales and Sharing Secrets, speaks to the passion of Sally, Diana, and Linda (who chose to not participate in writing our book, but was a longtime member with us) regarding cats. I am a loner in the group because my passion is dogs, although I’ve had many cats throughout the years. Dogs just “suit my taste” more. Anyhow, during my week in Tucson recently for the Tucson Festival of Books, I spent seven nights divided amongst the three writing group members and good friends. I was surrounded by felines – all in all, six of them. No dog anywhere to be found. It was okay, considering I like cats, too. Diana has three, Sally two and Linda one. Scooter tends to be shy. She also spends more time outdoors. She’s a pro at it although Sally checks on the cats when they go outside. A lot. There ARE bobcats and other critters who wouldn’t mind catching one of the innocent felines enjoying the back yard. Mazey has a long, very long bushy soft tail that could nearly wrap around her twice. She’s a beauty and mild tempered. Linda’s Cocoa is a one-year-old wild child that pounded up and down the stairway steps chasing a worn stuffed mouse. I heard her early morn, but rolled over and fell asleep again, a smile on my face. 

Diana has Oliver, Nunny, and then, there’s…Sadie. A very unordinary extraordinary cat. A  kleptomaniac. One time, while Sally was visiting Diana, she left her purse open. Sadie proceeded to pull keys and a pen from her purse. Another time, she took lipstick from a friend’s purse and put it in Diana’s shoe. While staying at Diana’s, we went into her personal library so I could see Sadie’s favorite book, The World’s Best Fairytales. Regularly using her paw, she pulls it off the bottom shelf and places it in the middle of the room. I imagine she does so after reading one of the tales. I mean, it wouldn’t surprise me. Somehow, as we watched a movie one evening, Sadie decided my chest was a good place to curl up and sleep. Rubbing against my face first, I spent the next couple hours lifting cat hair off my face. I was honored to be her bed.  

I just have to say, I cherished the time I stayed with my close friends in each of their houses. But maybe even better was being around six cats, their personalities as different as ours, though ours maybe not quite as independent!