Kitty Butler
Posted by Moose on December 17th, 2007. Filed under: Gene Pool.We seem to have acquired a new pet. Entirely by accident. And possibly by stupidity.
Our next door neighbors have a three-legged black cat named Batman. Batman is apparently displeased by their habits (which presumably include jobs, a word unheard of in this household) and has decided to adopt us instead. So every morning, Batman hops his three little legs over the fence, drags his paunchy tummy to our back door, and yowls to be let in. And, like a chump, I open the door.
Batman got into this habit a few weeks ago, when there was a heat wave and we left the door open during the day. Drawn by the bowl of dog food near the door, Batman wandered in. He chomped down some dry, meat-flavored cereal, was probably given a pet or two in passing, and decided this was where he’d like to be. And, by “this”, I mean “on the brand new white couch.”
After he clawed his way up, because three legs don’t allow the same jumping radius as four.
I mocked my mother a few weeks ago for constantly hopping up from whatever she was doing to let her cat in. The cat would saunter inside, eat a solitary piece of kibble, and walk back to the door, mewling imperiously. So mom gamely let her out. Only to get up again five minutes later when the cat wanted another piece of kibble. My mom retired from teaching to be a kitty butler. The rest of her time she spends at the grocery store, stocking up on four different kinds of expensive wet cat food so Princess Fluffy Pants has her choice.
You would have made fun of her too.
Today, as I got out of my chair to let Batman in, for the fourth time this week, I realized that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
The dog is resigned. The cat is insane. And possibly drunk.
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December 17th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
First read this:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/09/magazine/09_10_catcoat.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Then let me know when you are letting the cat suck your soul like at my house.
December 17th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
I love that the cat’s name is Batman. I have two small boys who love to wear Batman jammies.
I like your kids
December 17th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Your dog looks so beleagured.
And that cat does look demented.
December 17th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Cat’s moved in. They don’t move out until something better comes along. Since they don’t look once they’ve got something good….
Here- one of these for the couch: http://tinyurl.com/yv9uzh and now, of course, you have greater need for one of these: http://tinyurl.com/2sx8hm
What really shocks me is that Meeka hasn’t eaten Batman for lunch. I thought that was all that dog thought about when there wasn’t fresh food in front of her.
December 18th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Aw, we had a three-legged cat once that was named Tripod. Batman looks cuddly.
December 18th, 2007 at 11:55 am
I love limbless animals!
December 18th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
“Kitty Butler”?! I love it……where can I sign up?
December 18th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
“Kitty Butler?!” I love kitties!……where can I sign up?
December 18th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Don’t you just love cats?
We had a next-door cat who used to yowl and demand to be let in. At the crack of dawn. She would then eat my cat’s food, give him a look of utter disdain when he started growling at her and then saunter back out onto the balcony to have a nap. My cat – about twice her size – often just slunk to the other end of the flat and tried to pretend she wasn’t there.
December 18th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
I’ve got two cats that like to yowl at me when I’m sitting on my couch, after two times of getting up and chasing them off the porch, I took out the super soaker, knocked the bastards off the porch and went back to what I was doing, and my cat November, gave me the look of “glad I’m your cat and not the ones outside!” I mean Christ! They have owners; they are my neighbors, why do I need to take care of them?
December 18th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
It’s safe enough–and warm enough, usually–to leave our family room’s back door propped open to the backyard, so that our two pugs can exit and enter, at will.
Our new rescue kitten, with us two months, now, has the same liberty privileges.
So far, kitty hasn’t run off with the local riff-raff gang of feral cats. He’s only hung out with them on top of our brick wall.
December 19th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I have a friend whose Pomeranian won’t eat if his kibble isn’t flat in the bowl. If he eats it down on one side, he stands and barks until she shakes the bowl to level it off. This goes on all day long. I have made fairly merciless fun of her. Then, the other day waiting for her to get home, I went over and “flattened” Squeaky’s food for him. And so it goes.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:36 pm
The last picture is all kinds of fantastic.