Cats
No personal website is complete without some info and photos about one's pets. We always had one or two cats at the house while I was growing up, and after my college years I of course needed to have a pet cat again. Although you'll notice an obvious pattern in the type of pet I prefer (black and white cat, short-haired male), each has had a distinct personality. Click the link for each, to see a photo gallery.
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Pepsi and Sprite (2005 - Present)
A few months after Socrates died, we were fortunate enough to find two little kittens, Pepsi and Sprite, at the local humane society, Lollypop Farm. They said they were brothers, found in a box along the side of a road. They came with these names, and we thought they were appropriate: Sprite has the white on his face, while Pepsi's is almost all black. From day one they have acted as good brothers do: playing, fighting, caring for each other, and teaming up against their parents. Sprite is considered the "older" brother, because he is larger and matured faster. Pepsi was clearly the runt of the litter, and retained a "kittenish" personality longer. Sprite will play fletch with his rubber ball toys, actually returning the ball for another toss the way a dog will. Pepsi prefers to play with the ball on his own. Sprite meows like a typical cat, while Pepsi murmurs in an odd fashion, and can be found giving "murmur lectures" to his stuffed animal toys. They both eat a healthy amount, as growing cats should, but Sprite likes to play with his food (dry bits) first: he kicks them around the kitchen floor like it was soccer practice. |
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Socrates (1996 - 2005)
Socrates was a special cat. All cats have a unique personality, but he was the most eccentric I have ever known. Socrates, known as "Socs", was affectionate toward me, but only tolerated Susan, and didn't get along with most other people or animals. I think he always saw her as an intruder on what had been a two-man operation. He would fight by standing on his hind legs and boxing, and was quite good at it as he would angle his back feet outward for maximum stability. He loved Q-tips, rubber bands, and anything plastic to play with. He had a deep hatred for any bread product in a plastic bag (biscuits, even entire loaves). He would take the bag down to the basement and dance all over it with his back feet (which had claws), until it was nothing but a "crumb bag" -- yet, there was no sign he ever wanted to eat the contents. He didn't like change: anything that was moved was noticed and (re)inspected immediately. He also required that all doors (except closets) be open at all times. He would sometimes lose track of where Susan or I were, and then cry until we found him. At night, he would patrol the first floor of the house after we had left it, and if I went back downstairs for some reason, he would get very upset -- as if he had "signed off" on it to be safe and secure for the night, and now he had to do that task again. In the morning he would wake us up by various means: tapping on the pictures hung on the walls, "digging" me out with his paws or nose, stomping on papers in the office (some of which he would first pull out of file folders!). Socrates, like his namesake the ancient Greek philosopher, was very dialectical: he could carry on entire conversations, with a variety of meows, and with direct responses to your questions or comments. He died too young, and is greatly missed. |
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Bucky (1987-2001)
Bucky was, well, a lazy cat. Early on he was energetic and could jump higher than any cat I've ever known. But like many athletes, he became overweight in his old age. He would often sit like a fat buddha, upright, in order to clean his belly. He had a warm personality, and loved to be with you, nearly anytime, anywhere. He was an indoor cat his entire life, so he had an easy life of leisure. He lived a long and good life. |
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Pirate (1982-1998)
Pirate was, well, a bit of a grouchy, loner cat. He could be affectionate, but on his own terms only. He always struck me as a "serious" cat -- as though the things Bucky did were a waste of time, trivial, or embarassing to the feline race. Pirate started life as an outdoor cat, but managed to get scared up a very tall tree (over a hundred feet up). This happened a few times actually, with one incident keeping him up in the tree for six days and nights, during which time he lost half his body weight -- and wailed day and night, irking the neighbors (and us). So he was then de-clawed in the front and converted to being an indoor cat. He never lost his longing for the adventures of the woods, and tried regularly to escape. Occassionally he would get out, but never for very long. He lived a long and good life. |
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