A Cat Tale - One Cat's Opinion

The human of the house was listening to her precious noise box today. Humans were voicing their opinions about the price of veterinarian drugs. One even said, quite disdainfully, ‘Get rid of the cat’ - referring of course to the expense that was being incurred by one kind young man. The uncharitable caller went on to say he could not see how any pet could be 'part of a family'. I was not certain that I could stomach his attitude - had I been on earth, I would have felt a fur-ball coming on. This unpleasant human was obviously not a cat, dog or any other kind of pet, person.

So astounding was this, that I felt I had to descend to you from Cat (and Dog) Heaven (we sometimes let humans in too) to share my opinions. The image you see of me here is when I was only maybe a year old in the backyard of my Texas home (I kept a human there.)

My name is Max. I had two housemates, one my litter mate, Gomez. The other, allowed to stay, was a dog, Bear. Gomez, a tabby like me, was not as colourful but at least with smart black and gray markings. Bear, a huge, white gynormous mutt, was a fairly good fellow that we played with on occasion.

From the great beyond, I really don’t have much say over the human that we housed there, but she did learn well. She doesn’t have pets right now because we let her in on several issues about correct pet care.

1. Economics - we do need the right food.

2. Housing - no leaving us outside over night, too dangerous, and if you’re a dog too noisy. (and her bed was much more comfortable.)

3. Health care - if we’re to stay as healthy as possible, sometimes vets know what’s best even if their prices are outlandish.

Pets are not just someone to be a companion at some human's beck and call. Not all humans are responsible enough to take care of themselves, let alone one of the finer species like cats (or dogs).

So, do I think that kind young man I mentioned previously should get rid of his cat? Definitely not - he’s responsible and caring enough to keep any of us as long as he is able. The other human? Don’t let him near any one of us. We wouldn’t be anything more than an old shoe to him.

“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!”

~ Theophile Gautier