I know...some people are dog people and some are cat people and, in most cases, never the twain shall meet!
Growing up, my folks were dog people. Had no use for cats. Any stray that happened onto our yard felt the full force of our garden hose from my Dad. "Feed a cat once," he'd say, "and you're stuck with them forever!" Needless to say, we didn't feed any cats.
When my folks move back to the Valley from Tucson in 1968, a very friendly male cat tried to adopt us. My parents tried everything to chase the cat away but that cat was determined to hang around our front door. One night I overheard my Dad tell my Mom that he was calling Animal Control the next day to come and collect the cat.
That night the cat got into a firece fight and really got his left hind leg torn up. I had kind of grown attached to the cat and was really upset. Then a miracle took place (yeah, I'm probably overstating it here but it seemed miraculous at the time!).
My Mom said, "The cat can stay indoors until its leg gets better. We can't leave it outside injured like that." Somehow my Dad went along with the plan (another miracle!).
That cat, whom my Mom christened, "Tom," was the perfect house cat. He laid on the couch most of the day and slept on my bed during the night. He would patiently wait at the door to go out side and "do his business" as my Mom described it. The folks bought some cat food which Tom ate without complaint.
After a couple of weeks, his leg healed. But Tom did not leave the couch. He had converted the dog people in the house. They loved Tom almost as much as I did.
My wife, Sherri, and her family were cat people (score one big point for Sherri!). For the almost 41 years we've been married, we've always had cats. Presently we have two in the house - Glory and Titty.
Someone once said, "Thousands of years ago, cats were worshipped as gods. Cats have never forgotten this." I, instead, prefer an old Irish saying, "Who would believe such pleasure from a wee ball o' fur."
