My Unintentional Cat Whisperer Vibes

I like all kinds of furry animals, but cats are my particular favorites.  Perhaps because they taught me at an early age that I was special to them.  I own two Maine Coons as well as an Australian Shepherd.

When I was two we were in a pet store buying turtle food when the one and only kitten, a white Persian reached out, grabbed me, and refused to let go until my mom brought it home with us.  It was eventually stolen, but that cat followed me everywhere.

They would follow me home from school when I was young and we still lived in the city.  They would find me in a parking lot, they would rush at me from trees, and they would sit on our carport just waiting for me to come out to pet them.  I never encouraged this, I wasn't feeding them, they just came.

My mom once dated the guy who raised the big cats for the Audubon Zoo.  We were at his house and I rolled around and played alone with a lion named Sampson.  I'll never forget how that made me feel.

My husband and I met 18 years ago and he noticed this behavior right off the bat.  That's partially why he believes I'm some sort of witch.  Being from New Orleans, where voodoo is prominent, and his being from New England where he grew up superstitious doesn't help.  He has this Stephen King Sleepwalkers fear they want to eat his face off.  He won't let me have any bigger than a Maine Coon because he thinks they'll make him dinner.

When we bought our first house in a cul-de-sac in Utah, the neighbors couldn't keep their indoor cat home.  It would dart at every opportunity to our house and sit in the front window or try to come inside.  Another neighbor's cat did the same thing and when they moved, they left him behind because he refused to go with him.  We ended up taking him in because they never came back feeling he abandoned them.

One Halloween, me and a friend from our cul-de-sac were walking our children around trick-or-treating and a kitten came bolting from around a corner straight at me and leaped into my arms.  "Do you know that cat?" she asked.  "Never seen it before," I replied as I nuzzled it.  She gave me a funny look and didn't hang out with me any more.

When we moved to North Carolina, my husband and I went for a walk one evening and a little orange cat left a front porch and came running to me.  It tried to climb my leg so I picked it up and pet her little head then set her down.  She followed us after for a long time and I had to stop and tell her, "No, sweetie you have to go home to your house."  She looked at me sadly and went home.  My husband gave me the oddest look.  I just shrugged and we moved on.

(Beloved Butler 11/1/1996 - 5/26/2012)

We often are awakened to my oldest cat yelling out the window because there is a cat wanting in.  Actually, we've had about twenty cats since we've lived here hanging around, wanting inside.

I currently have a foster cat in our guest room.  I work with an animal rescue group and there is a feral kitten they took in before I started volunteering there.  Sassy is her name.  She is very shy and doesn't work well with anyone so she has just stayed in her enclosure at Petsmart for the last several months.

She liked me.

When she heard my voice she came to the glass, she'd put her paw up reaching for me, she cuddled with me, and would always turn sad and sullen when I'd leave at the end of adoption day.  So I brought her home for a "cage break" and to try to help her be more social with others.

She is working well with the rest of my family and even our pets, so I'm hoping she'll get adopted soon.

This morning, there was a beautiful black cat outside my window screaming for me.  I went out to see what all the caterwauling was about and he jumped into my arms.  De-clawed and obviously a house cat, I had to send him home.

I've heard it's because they are drawn to my energy, that they are in some way my guardians, and that I would make a good modern day witch.

Shhh!  Don't tell my husband...  ;)