Happy International Cat Day

   Believe it or not, we used to be a cat household. That’s right, back in the early 80’s we had three cats. Since today is International Cat Day, I thought it’d be nice to look back at these incredible friends.

   If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you are probably familiar with Miss Gitty. I adopted her at the Humane Society the summer of my high school graduation. She was my first official responsibility as I ventured out on my own. Luckily, Miss Gitty was not high maintenance and loved to just hang out with me. She was an excellent judge of character and if she didn’t like someone, there was a good reason. I learned to trust her judgment early on. We had a good thing just the two of us but then I met Amos.

   Amos is without a doubt the coolest cat that I have ever known. He was a solid black Manx so he always looked like his butt was jacked up and of course, he had no tail. He was a joker and loved to make us laugh. Trust issues were big with Amos. If someone knocked on the door, he would run and hide. Maybe he would come out and maybe he would not. If it was a family member or friend that he knew, he would come out with his super-sonic purr machine running on full blast. You could hear that boy purring all over the house.

   Miss Gitty and Amos were good together. We lived in a tiny trailer and everything was fine until Miss Gitty escaped. Neither cat had ever been out on their own so I was frantic. She came slinking up the next day with a guilty look. You guessed it, she went out and got herself pregnant! I hadn’t bothered getting her fixed because she stayed inside and so I figured it wasn’t necessary. 

   I was wrong and she delivered kittens a few weeks later. Something went wrong because all the kittens were stillborn. I was beside myself and on the phone with the vet. Back in those days, the phone was attached to the wall so I would have to leave the phone and go check on her then run back and report to the vet. Finally, her last little kitten was born and this sweet baby was alive. I’m not sure Miss Gitty knew what to do with a wiggling kitten and she wouldn’t bite the cord. She was walking around with the kitten hanging out and I’m screaming and crying to the vet. My vet calmed me down before explaining that I was going to have to cut the umbilical cord. Good grief! With a shaking hand, I tied off the cord and cut it. The little baby boy was going to be okay and Miss Gitty was going to be spayed! 

My mother painted this for me in 1982. 

   Naturally, I HAD to keep this little fluffball that Miss Gitty and I brought into this world. That is how Opie Taylor came to be cat number three in the house. He was the softest and sweetest cat ever. His orange hair and adorable personality made him hard to resist.

   Amos and Opie were besties and partners in crime! They were always up to something and you can bet it would end up with a mess. The two would often get on my kitchen table and rear up on their hind legs to box. 

   Living with three cats was a lot of fun! Oh, how I wish cell phones had been around back in those days. We truly missed documenting some priceless moments, but we do have some incredible memories of three amazing cats. Not a day goes by that something doesn’t make me think of Miss Gitty, Amos, and Opie. I will always love and miss my cats.

Happy International Cat Day to all

🐱 Our Feline Friends! 😻

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.