the cat.

I have mentioned my cat (Shadow) a few times in this blog. I've had this cat for nearly 8 years. So he has been with me through a lot of good times and bad. I always wondered what he would say about it all if he could talk. Some may think a single guy with a cat is a little wimpy, and a dog would make a better companion. But I knew how much work and attention a dog takes. You need to take them for walk, you can't leave them alone for too long, vet bills, and obedience training. I like dogs, I just didn't have the time for all that. Cats, they need a place to eat, sleep and use the bathroom and they are good.

I don't know if it was the way I took care of him or his personality, but Shadow is a very unique cat. He got his name because as a kitten he would chase the shadow of my hand all over the house. To this day he still tries and catch my shadow. He is also a very curious cat. If you put a box on the floor, he will find a way into it, no matter how big or small. He figures out how to lay down in the box and go to sleep. This cat loves to sleep in different places. I have found him sleeping in the cupboard above the refrigerator, the dryer that was left open, and on some book cases. My favorite was when he crawled into the sleeve of my coat that was laying on the floor.
Now Shadow is not your typical cat when it comes to people. Normally there are two types of cats. The ones that run and hide when company comes over, and the ones that hang out for the extra attention. Shadow likes to hang out when company comes over, but he also likes to act all cute a friendly, and just when the unknowing victim gets close enough to pet him, Whack! He takes a good swipe at them. Anything under 4 foot tall is fair game to him, he thinks he can take them down like a cheetah chasing down a antelope. So I have to warn people when they come over to not pet the cat and keep their small children away from him. But do they listen, No. Shadow does his thing where he roles on his back and gives this look that says, rub my tummy. Whack! He walks away with this strut like he's all proud, almost like he's laughing at his latest victim. Most of my friends have scars from previous visit to the house of pain. Shadow helped me picked out my wife through this process. She is the only person I know that he did not scratch. From the beginning he has let her pet him and pick him up with out a trip to the hospital for her. So I figure if she was good enough for Shadow, she was good enough for me. My brother and his family once stayed for a few days at my house. My brother had a air mattress setup in my living room. So Shadow thought this was a new place for him to sleep. So in the middle of the night he jumped on the mattress and tried to curl up next to my niece. My brother didn't want him to pop the mattress, or scratch his daughter, so he tried to scare him away buy whipping the pillow at him. Shadow just stood his ground and tried to fight back.

This brings me to an event that happened this weekend. My wife and I were coming home from church to find the neighbor's dogs laying in the middle of our yard. They are friendly dogs and normally if you walk over to their gate they will run back in. So I was going to go in, change my clothes and then go put the dogs back in their fence. But, when we opened the door Shadow got out. My wife and I were ready to scoop Shadow up and get him back in the house before the dogs would get to him. To our surprise Shadow got to the top step of the porch and arched his back like cats do. The dogs stood at attention, lowered their heads, and walked back to their yards. Just for good measure and I guess to prove his point. Shadow walked closer to the edge of the our yard, and the dogs got up and went further to the other side of their yard. He looked up at me and and gave me this look like “There you go.” I went over to the dog's gate to let them back in their fence. Those dogs kept on looking over their shoulders like they were afraid Shadow was going to sneak up behind them. For all you people that say dogs are mans best friend, that fine. But my cat is my protector.