HOW I CAME TO LOVE CATS - PHYLLIS' STORY

Recently, I've been talking with my friend Phyllis about cats - our cats, our love of cats and our initial dislike of cats. I, for one, was never a big fan of cats until I met and fell in love with Buddy.

Neither was Phyllis who graciously agreed to be a guest blogger for 8 Paws and 2 Tails. Here is her story... 

How I came to love cats

For almost my entire life I had a real fear of cats. I’m not sure why. The only unsettling, yet infrequent experience I had was with two cats who lived in Massachusetts, Spooky and Thunder. These cats were aged, wise and loved to pounce on me. They so enjoyed seeing me jump.

Flash forward many years later

A dear friend was dying from cancer. She displayed so much courage in her fight. As a final request a notice went out to see if someone could care for her aged and cantankerous cat, Annie. No one was able to take Annie, so, because of how I felt about my friend I took her cat.  Annie came to me on a Saturday and spent the next three weeks under the bed in the guest room. She had come from a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan and now she was in a house.

 I cleaned her litter box and gave her food.  She gave me dirty looks. She was eating and loved running up and down the steps. We were not connecting and I felt so sad because I could not explain to her what had happened.

Then, according to her time frame, we met on the landing.  She put her paw on my hand. At last she had come to feel comfortable in her new home.  I moved her bed onto my landing and we became best friends. She always greeted me when I came home and loved when I sang to her. Her song was Annie Fa-fannie, I love my beautiful Annie. Her tail moved like a metronome.

All was well until she developed a severe case of pancreatitis. After six days in the hospital she recovered. Her very skinny legs had been shaved for some medical procedures and she looked like a poodle. I had her for another six months and then she really got sick. Although it was a very difficult decision, the vets encouraged me to put her down. Since they had been tending to her since I first got her (bless their hearts, they even made house calls!) I knew that they were right. After her passing I got a personal letter about her from each of the employees of the Vet hospital. I had Annie Fafannie 20 months. And, I grew to love her because she was so brave. feisty, independent. Not overtly loving but always happy that I was there.

Today

Currently I am in the process of removing the carpeting that Annie got sick on, and although I suffer from cat allergies, I know that there is another cat in my future.

Annie Fafannie