Our warm fuzzy friends

     Soft and cuddly, warm and friendly. This describes our furry friends, our pets. Dogs, cats, hamsters, even our feathered birds who sing in cages in our homes. How many of us throughout our lifetime bonded closely with animals who never asked for anything except to be loved, and well, of course. . . food!

     I think back to dogs we had when I was a little girl. Two fluffy companions, one aptly named Fluffy, the other, her sister, Buffy. How I'd longed for these dogs to love me, sleep with me at night when the childhood fears fell upon me. They never did. It was my mother they bonded with. She, who'd fed them, loved and cared for them. I think they would have gone to the ends of the earth and back again for Mom.

     Several soft, furry cats graced our home through the years as well. One in particular, Jimmy, a gray striped tiger cat was a favorite of mine. Aptly named for his larger nose for Jimmy Durante, he of the famous schnoz. Another cat, coal black as the evening, appropriately named Midnight, frightened the living daylights out of me. He'd wait behind the hedges bordering our small front yard and spring out, claws extended whenever someone would walk by.
     When I'd grown into adulthood, I brought two other black cats into my home. They'd walked the neighborhood, scrawny and mewling for food, when I begged my husband to let them stay with us. You could tell they were of the same litter for their markings on their bellies, and we named them, Kitty #1 and Kitty #2. Well, let me tell you the reason for this: when we'd call, "Here, kitty, kitty," they always came running. I know, not very clever, but it worked.

     Kitty #2 was my companion for many years until three years ago when she succumbed to a tumor in her stomach. This beloved friend of mine, who was more like a dog, followed me around my house, sitting as near to me as possible, and never keeping me out of her sight. When I'd put my coat on to leave for the day, she'd look into my face, eyes filled with apprehension, but upon my return in the evening, she'd greet me with her sloppy, wet love.

     I now have two cats once again, a brother and sister, Bella and Rocco, two very hairy felines whose antics never cease to amaze my husband and I, as they drink water from the bathtub, one of them down inside the tub, the other perched precariously upon the edge.

     My son has a cat he famously named 'Piggy' for her portly size. Piggy has become somewhat of an icon, for she has her own YouTube following and Facebook page. I think the reason for her success lies in something we all long for. The comfort and companionship of a furry friend. The whimsical tales we tell one another of the crazy things our pets do. This is something which bonds us as human beings, for we can laugh with one another, share our own "tails" and come away just a little bit happier.


Buy my book Piggy, The Adventures of A Not So Ordinary Cat at Amazon::

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