...Just between you and me...: Romey

This post is dedicated to the silliest gal in our life, Romey. If haven't heard the story, Romey was a stray cat that came to me in San Antonio. I had been there a couple months and didn't really know anyone yet and I had been thinking about getting a cat. Just something sweet to come home to and take care of. Well just a couple days after deciding this, a cat showed up on my porch, and I named him "Amigo", because I fate had sent this friend to me. Well Amigo might have liked hanging out on my porch but his male instincts called him back to the wild and I never saw him again. Then shortly after I noticed this long haired gray cat had been hanging out on my porch and around the apartment building. I thought "he" was beautiful. And an odd bipolar mix of sweet and sassy. Obviously still fairly young, playing and pouncing all the time. I was certain this cat had a home. He never looked hungry and was behaved (for a cat at least). But he really took a liking to being around me, and so I named him "Romeo", since he was such a loverboy at times. I don't know why but I had just always assumed he was a boy. So I promptly purchased some catfood and settled on the fact that he was now mine to look after. You would think he would be grateful but his personality took a turn and he quickly became very complacent with the things he thought he was entitled to - having his space and his affection on demand. It made me laugh though. What can I say, I'm a sucker. And then I met Walker. I knew it was love when I found out he was a fellow cat-lover. I'd never found a man who would even humor having a cat. And he fell in love with Romeo as if he was his own. But the question began to grow, is Romeo really a Romeo?? Or is he a Juliet!? Being long haired we couldn't see any of the tale-tale signs of his, ahem, "manhood"...And he didn't really howl at night the way most male cats do when indoors. But then maybe he was altered, which would explain his lack of nightlife curiosities. We tried many times to investigate the situation, but he was very very fickle about his belly being rubbed and was not afraid to let you know where he stood on the subject. He frequently enjoyed taking naps on his back, legs spread open; and one day we seized the moment! Romeo was in fact Romey...not a drop of evidence that he was a "he". That was it, the verdict was out. He, was a She. Suddenly it all made sense - the moodiness, being fussy and demanding. Of course she was a female. Walker likes to tease that I taught her all of that. But we love her and she has brought a lot of joy and pleasure to our little family. Sometimes we think about getting her a sibling...but then we realized she has enough attitude for two cats, and it was be inhumane to put another cat at her mercy.

Moving to Houston we were both nervous about how she would adjust to becoming a full-time indoor cat. She adjusted perfectly - by being extremely clear that she was NOT going to be a full-time indoor cat, the all night meowing and scratching at the door. We tried convincing her the patio was outdoors, but she is no idiot. She again was very vocal about what she wanted and expressed her disgust with us regularly. In all fairness, it is only natural for her, and we came to terms with the fact that it was cruel of us to expect her to let go of all that she'd ever known. She was paying the price for our fears. We realized that cats are created with the instincts that will get them back home after a night of prowling and so we let her out for the first time. And wouldn't you know it, all that fuss for nothing. All she does is sits on the stairs or in the breezeway or sidewalk. Very rarely does she venture very far. And heaven forbid she wander too far, she does have her identification for a safe return. Its so funny, if we go somewhere in my car, when we return she is always sitting on the trunk of Walkers car. She even knows our vehicles! And if we don't see her when we pull up she is at the door of the car as we are opening it to get out. Its the weirdest thing, but comforting to know that she knows where her home is.... and more importantly where the food is.

We affectionately call her by many names. Piggy, Plumpy, Pig-Pig, silly meow, Bloat, good baby...and we like to sing songs to her only because it angers her and we like antagonizing her. So with all this said if you come over and you think your loved ones have lost it, I promise you we haven't, we have just become crazy cat people.

"If I wanted you to turn your head I would have told you to"