Let’s just start off the week of animal posts with a crazy cat lady one, why don’t we? Yes, I’m the girl with more than one cat and let me just say that I do love the look on people’s faces right after I say that I have cats, plural. The tiny crinkle of the eye, the slightly concerned look. “How many?” they ask conversationally, but I can tell that inside they’re imagining I’m one of those people with the hundreds of felines attached to my person and running rampant throughout my living space whose squalor will one day be written about in an article detailing how my house was raided.
The fact of the matter, however, is that I have only two. Two insane creatures that run my living space and love me a lot, but never more than when I’m in process of opening cans of their food. And these two creatures could not be more different — Lilly is friendly, loving, adorable. She’s the one who’s immediately in friends’ laps, whether they’re allergic or not. Toby is a bit more complex. The truth is, she’s downright ornery — perfectly willing to scratch, bite or hiss at anyone. I warn people about her when they come in and marvel at her beauty (both of my girls, and I say this without bias, have truly supermodel-esque cat features). I say not to pet her or poke a finger in her direction. They never listen — the first time. After that, they leave her well enough alone. When Toby and I are one-on-one, however, she’s downright obsessed with showing me love, to the point where she tends not to be able to stop licking my face.
I imagine at times that Lilly and Toby (a word about Toby’s name: I thought she was a boy until I got her fixed — this could have something to do with her “issues”) represent the two sides of me. One, gregarious and sweet. The other, dark, moody and, at times, the most loving creature ever born. Some days I’m more Lilly than Toby, other days I’m a 24-hour Toby. They say that pets take after their owners. And I guess that as a Gemini with my share of mood swings, I needed two to fully represent me.
I think this makes perfect sense – we surround ourselves with people (or animals or things) that mirror us. Lilly and Toby – alter egos that you can cozy up to … purr-fect!
Not only do our pets take on our personalities, they’re also supposedly resemble us….thus the reason for Lilly and Toby both being beautiful? 😉
“supposed to” NOT “supposedly.” Wish this blog had a “delete” editor…sigh.
The question remains- how do Lilly and Toby get along with each other?
At the height of my adult cat ownership I had seven. I’m currently down to one, but DH married into her and swears we will never own another. I’m considering divorce.
Not really… but… yanno…
At least I still have the dog.
I had a cat, Oliver, who had a wonderful name, until, like you, I took it to be fixed and found out “he” was a girl. We then changed her name to Hobbes, which, suprisingliy, is the name of a MALE tiger, but it was less gender-specific than Oliver.
Oh my!
Not only did I have THREE cats (now down to two) but I live on a boat with them!
We have much in common.
I am also a Gemini…
Oh oh.
I’m hearing woo woo music.
I have to say, I’m glad I’m not the only one who had a girl that I thought was a boy. I felt rather silly about the whole thing and it seemed late to change her name. So I decided that I thought “Toby” was a cute girl name…as for how Toby and Lilly get along…well, sometimes I catch them grooming each other like they’re madly in love and other times they seem to get along about as well as cats and, well, dogs.
Hah, great post.
I’m allergic.
Ooo now I have a cat named Mittens and she’s the most perfect little thing.
I love crazy cat lady stories (not that I’m implying yours is a crazy cat lady story, Anna, but the true crazy cat ladies like Sandy Dennis http://www.sandydennis.org/cats.html). We have a house around the corner from us and I regularly see 12-15 cats on the porch. I imagine there are more inside. I read somewhere that Sandy Dennis had 42 cats when she died. 42. Imagine.