Nearly twenty years of marriage, spanning five dogs and three cats, I never realized truly how much my wife is a cat-person. Everywhere we go my wife Sheri always finds a cat-in-residence, or a street urchin to give some attention. Sometimes the attention prompts some conversation with the cat’s human companion, and at other times, a little humor that Sheri actually came to spend time with the cat rather than the friends whose house it was.
I grew up with both dogs and cats. I did always seem to care for a former stray however. Yet cats have almost always found me. Self- assured and independent, a cat does not require the constant attention that a dog – or at least, the dogs I have had – required. I chose Comet, Dexter was deposited with us as a puppy by our middle son (who insists eleven years later that he is still “his” dog), and I brought Happy and Sydney into the marriage.
As you can see from the images, we have been adopted by a calico this summer. She probably made her choice from the Starkist tuna Sheri had been feeding her evenings in late July and through August, to the great displeasure of Dexter and Comet. Now, early mornings and at dusk, one of us is feeding the cat. (I made a special run to Target last week for canned cat food.) Over a few weeks, the one-scruffy calico has developed a shiny coat.
I guess the next thing to do is name her. By the way, I am almost certain the cat to be female, since calico is a feline trait almost totally found in females. But I’ll leave that to Sheri. It’s her cat.
It's a Dog's Life 