Long Live Queen Trudy

One day, I was in my office and my wife came in to show me a picture. It was of a beautiful six month old kitten.  My wife said, "Look at this baby". This began our latest project.

As you may remember, last year we lost a member of the family.

Well, not really. It seems like we lost a member of the family: our 21 year old cat, Gracie.

We got the cat when our son was in first grade. That cat was with us through elementary school, middle school, high school, college, son's first job, and his marriage.  She was with us from Clinton's second administration to Donald Trump's.

That's a long time to have a pet.

Frankly though, it was nice to be petless for a while. 

We didn't have to buy any pet food and I didn't have to clean out a litter box. 

We talked about getting a dog because dogs like humans better than cats.

I think dogs have a deep spiritual side. Your average dog could easily join a Baptist church.  "Are you a sinner?"  "Why, yes I am but I want to be a good boy."   The average cat would probably be a Unitarian. Maybe an Episcopalian.  "Are you a sinner?  (Cat looks around, ignores the question, and goes to sleep.)

Dogs actually like you and they miss you.  When you go to the store and come back it is like the Father greeting the Prodigal Son.  "Oh, I missed you so very, very much. I didn't think you were ever coming home".

When you go somewhere and come back, the cat says, "Were you gone somewhere? My bowl is empty".

Cats have their ways. Scratching.  Gracie literally tore up two couches.  I told my wife we need to get a scratch board or something if we get this cat.

We bought a scratch board and it had some information about cats which is incorrect. 

It says "Cats scratch in order to leave scent marks using the scent glands on the pads of their feet".  This is wrong. Cats scratch in order to tear up your expensive furniture to let people know you can't have nice things.

 Cats also like to show you their butts. 

In the article called "Why Cats Show You Their Butts" Rae Paoletta says  “For cats, it’s normal for them to sniff each other’s butts as a way to say hello or confirm another cat’s identity. It’s hard for us to relate to, but for them, smell is much more important to cats and how they recognize each other than vision is. So cats may be ‘inviting’ us to check them out, or just giving us a friendly hello.”

In summary, cats show you their butts just to give you a friendly hello.  That is ground breaking knowledge!  In other news, a rattlesnake rattles just as a little "howdy-do".

Well, we decided get the cat.  She was a rescue feral kitten. Remember that.

The people that rescued her from a life of feralness gave her all her shots and had her spaded.  Apparently now, they "clip" one of the ears of the cat to let people know she has been spaded.

Her given name was Ivy. She has a brother named Kudzu.  We renamed her Trudy, after Pete Campbell's wife on "Mad Men" because I think Alison Brie is the cat's meow. (Sorry, I couldn't resist it.)

We brought Trudy home and for two weeks she hid from us. 

Feral cats are basically wild animals and have a fear of man. We thought that maybe Trudy had a little too much of feralness in her.  She wouldn't look at me except to hiss. 

I told my wife that we may have to take her back. (The cat-not my wife.) My wife showed me a little video clip where the foster cat mom was petting Trudy.  Then I thought, maybe Trudy just doesn't like us. If you've ever have anything to do with cats, you know they do what they want to do.

My wife began to bribe Trudy with some cat treats.  Trudy came out and allowed my wife to touch and pet her.  Then I came in and after a while, Trudy allowed me to touch and pet her. It was sort of like "The Miracle Worker", except it was with a cat.

The only problem is we have to be sitting on the floor for Trudy to allow us to do this.  For us, sitting on the floor is like planning a vacation.  We have to plan how we are going to sit on the floor, how long we are going to sit on the floor, and how we are going to stand up from sitting on the floor.

But Trudy seems like she is getting use to us.  She likes to sit at the window and watch the school bus. She has a favorite toy. She likes her cat food.  She is purring.  That may not sound like a big deal to you, but three weeks ago, we were not sure of anything with this cat.

I tried to look at it from the cat's point of view. New house. New smells. The feral nature which teaches them to always be prepared for threats. Eventually though, I think this cat will be all right.

She's already showing us her butt.