Cats I Know
first in an occasional series

Meet my cat, Cat. To be precise, his given name is Snuggles, but seeing that he only responds to "Cat," that's what we call him. I wish that I had been clever enough to call him after the Red Dwarf character, but Cat doesn't have that much style anyway.

He's 16, diabetic, arthritic, and an occasional bath-mat-widdler. I'm not really sure why he does that, change of scenery perhaps. He can be found sleeping, as cats are wont, at all hours. He's become even lazier than the rest of cat-kind in his later years, when even swatting at his catnip-filled mousey has become a burden.

Lately, we've been calling him "Dog" because he comes to the door whenever we come home or sits near you and waits intently for you to finish your task. He also used to come when called. Unfortunately, this dog-like nature does not extend to anything so gratifying as fetching the paper, or even basic companionship.

Despite his reputation as "the worst pet ever," I do in fact love Cat very much. He becomes quite enthusiastic when you announce your intention to pet him by lowering yourself to the floor in the later hours of the evening. Sometimes, he gets so excited that he licks you once (only once!) or bites you a little bit on the hand. Occasionally, he remembers that I'll lift him onto the couch if he comes near it, and there he can get long-term petting.

If Cat is not lounging in front of the door (with his back to it, of course), he can be found in his bed next to the bedroom door or on his purple blanket in front of the TV.