Webbtrails: Kitty - I love him a lot, but...

There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat. -Tay Hohoff

I love our cat. His name is officially Oliver, but I mostly just call him Kitty. Yeah, I know...so original! We got him over a year ago as a fluffy, soft little kitten. Now he's a big beautiful orange tabby who walks all around acting like he owns the place. That's because he thinks he does...

"Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want." -Joseph Wood Krutch

My neighbor says Oliver feels completely at home walking into her house and taking a nap under her bed. Then there was the day I got a call from the school principal. I heard him introduce himself and groaned inwardly, "What now?" as I misjudged my poor little son in that moment. The guilty party was our CAT! He'd been following the kids to school and had been walking right in as if he had every right to be there. I later wailed to my husband that I was good in school my whole life and yet now in later life I still have to talk to the principal; not just for my kids, but that darn cat too!

"For a Man to truly understand rejection he must first be ignored by a cat." -Anon

Oliver prefers the men in our family. Don't ask me why, because with

the exception of Darren, they sure don't like him. But given the chance he'll go in the boys' room and nap on their bed. He also enjoys Darren's company and purrs for him as he sits on his lap or on the bed with him. He'll perch on the back of Darren's computer chair while he is working there, or just sit on a nearby table where he can be close to the man. I'm the one who worries if he doesn't come in at night; I'm the one who invites him in and onto my lap; I'm the one who ensures the cat dish has food and water; I'm the one who will give good kitty neck scratches...but does he like me? No. He'll allow me to pet him and scratch him when he's in the mood for it, but he'll forsake me for Darren in a heartbeat and always ups and leaves whether I'm done with him or not!

"I have noticed that what cats most appreciate in a human being is not the ability to produce food which they take for granted--but his or her entertainment value." -Irish Proverb

Although Oliver comes in to eat and sleep, he generally prefers to stay outside roaming around and doing whatever it is cats do. We do know he's a good mouser and have caught him in the act of playing or catching them right near the house. Good kitty!! But he also goes for the birds and will pounce quite high in the air to bring one down. Considering we've got a nest in the corner of our house, I'm not quite as excited about that skill. And then there's the fact that perhaps it's taught him he can tangle with others in the animal kingdom...and thus comes the main point of this story - I love my cat, but...

Oliver got skunked!!

Oh yeah. It's not been pretty. And love only goes so far, you know?

We love you kitty, but "You're stinking up the whole house! Go outside!" (And some in our house don't really love him so they were particularly unhappy when he snuck in a nap on their bed!) (Hey! I was getting used to the smell and didn't know he'd come back into the house...get over it, will ya!?) We've given him three baths and covered him in tomato sauce - (is that really supposed to work?) - but the odor remains. He can't be in the house for more than a few minutes before someone complains and shows him the door again. It's a good thing he doesn't take a long time to eat. I feel sorry for the poor pariah, as he's not very welcome around us right at the moment, but although I do think the odor has decreased in pungency, it's not gone. When I go to pet him, my hand smells skunky afterwards. I fear it will be quite some time before he'll smell normal again. With any luck he'll be tolerable before the snow flies this winter.

I would have liked to relate this story to something deeper and more meaningful, but the stench in the air killed any brain cells that would have come up with that. Therefore, I leave you this as the only moral of the story I was capable of coming up with...