When Cohabitating with Felines

Life is always interesting, when sharing your living space with cats. Stormy and Henry share my space. Interesting is a creative way to frame it, yeah, sure...

• Henry lets you know when he is ready to get up in the morning. How thoughtful! He even remembers to go and rattle the blinds in the bedroom window, and then climb up on top of the tv tower (dresser, tv, vcr, dvd player, trash bin - because he won't leave it alone on the floor) to get at the trash bin yet again...


• Stormy will leap onto your chest to let you know he is ready to be petted. Or else.


• Henry communicates easily. And often.


• Henry has strange fetishes...sponges, dusters, feathers, plastic thingys, and elastic thingys. He went after the swiffer duster yesterday...and won it's heart. Now I have to root out a new one.


• They don't want you to forget them, so thoughtfully leave fur in many forms around your apartment. There is often a hacked up furball incident once a week, particularly since Henry-Long-Fur's arrival.


• They are quite content to be indoor cats. They play in the litter box often, just to remind them of that giant sandbox outside my neighbor's garden, being sure to whip it all around the designated litter box room (my hall closet/storage space). Henry patiently waits for you to clean the box, just so he can go in and play again.


• They look devastatingly cute together - Henry's fair lambswool fur against Stormy's pantherlike coat.


• They love playing together. And wrestling. And making one another cry out loud. Stormy growls at Henry if he gets too close while he eats. So they are fed several feet apart. When Henry is in the bag (there is always a bag to play in) Stormy loves to run and jump on top of it, pinning Henry into the bag. One of his feet are usually in Henry's eye. They also love to chase one another around the apartment - there is a short wall that divides the kitchen/living room, and they like to go around this, and around, and around, and around...
• They will listen to any and all complaints at the end of my day, and ask for nothing in return. They will let me know when they are ready for affection, often while I am doing something else with my hands.
• At least they don't leave the toilet seat up...