I never intended to have a cat, but Reina had other plans. One morning I must have left my front door open (in my 2nd floor apt). I was in front of the sink in the bathroom getting ready for work and saw movement out of the corner of my eye--there was a black cat sitting on the lid of the toilet looking at me! It was the beginning of a long (and sometimes long-suffering!) friendship...
From that day on, for many weeks she persistently graced me with her presence. I guess she had decided upon me as suitable "subject" material (as in 'a queen and her subjects') and was just getting me used to the idea! I told her she could hang out with me when I was home, 'but I'm not feeding you, and you're not MY cat!' Then it was, "ok, you can sleep over, but I'm not feeding you, and you're NOT my cat!' That progressed to "well, here's a snack, but ....not my cat!" And eventually, as you've no-doubt guessed, she became my cat. I think she had it planned out all along!
I heard it said once:
Reina had a very long memory of this--this being worshipped and treated as royalty. I'm sure some of her thoughts were: "You are now my subject, and I shall bestow upon you the honor of serving me all of my days. I will allow you the honor of preparing and serving me delicious tidbits, of keeping me warm and comfy, of providing me with entertainment and a comfortable lap. I shall even allow you to clean my litterbox (and to pick up those stray pieces of litter I scatter in my frenzied litter-flipping)." (fortunately, I only had to deal with that part the last four years of city living!) "Oh, and while you're at it, please don't forget to fill my waterglass! You know I don't really like to drink out of a bowl."
She, graciously lowering herself to my level, made her catty attempts at helping me with my work:
and once even helped me stuff envelopes for a mailing:
...but 'work' always resulted in the need to nap... a talent at which she was definitely the QUEEN!
So that no one thinks she was just a sleeper... she loved to chase bugs, spiders, and moths, and anything that would run away (including me, at times!), and once almost broke through my living room window trying to get at a MONSTER out on our balcony! (a large iguana that had escaped from a neighbor) She loved to tear through the apartment at top speed as though there were a pack of wild dogs on her tail. And she even managed once, by reaching through the bars of my balcony, to catch a hummingbird. I believe that was her greatest physical accomplishment; she was quite proud, though it made only the tiniest of snacks.
- for the years enjoying the companionship of my cat, Reina... and for the silly and wonderful creature she was! (27)
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI came over from Eva's blog. Reina looks like she was a wonderful cat!
I also like your sock monkeys.
Have a terrific day!
Hi Sari! Thanks for checking out my blog...I recoginzed your name from Eva's site. Glad to have you visit! and, yes, she was a great cat...
ReplyDeleteAs for the sock monkeys... the one on the left was one my sister and I played with at my grandparents' house when we were little kids.(His name is Ebbon) My parents just recently passed him on to me!! :) The one on the right, my sister made for me in my early 20's because she knew how much I loved Ebbon. A wonderfully thoughtful gift!! Now the two are buddies! ~sharilyn