Cat Fancy

April 16, 2010

So I haven’t done anything with those window frames yet…BUT I WILL! MARK MY WORDS!

Anyway, it was my cat Hermia’s 19th birthday yesterday, April 15. Yes, 19. Can you believe it?

I can’t. I was never a cat person. We had them growing up, off and on. Names like Cinders, and Felix, and Truffle (actually I made that last name up). But these cats came and went like roommates in a Brooklyn apartment. I never was that attached to any of them. I got Hermia from a friend who basically said (asked?): “I’m moving into a new place and my new housemate is allergic to cats but it’s only temporary…”

Well, temporary has now turned into 19 years.

Now I can’t imagine my life the last 19 years without her. Basically she and I grew up together. She’s seen me through 3 states, several boyfriends, and all kinds of drama, heartache, success. She’s an odd cat; for most of her life she was pretty darn fat. Obese some might say. She had this belly that hung down and brushed the floor when she walked. And she was a talker– talked all the time as if she were holding a conversation with you.

Me: Hi Hermia, how are you today?

Hermia: Mew. Mew. Mewwww. Reowrrr.

You get the picture.

We used to call her the Shelly Winters of cats. But now she’s more like the Jessica Tandy of cats.

Ok. I’m beginning to realize that I’m now devoting this blog post to my cat, which isn’t what I was planning to do; however, I do find it pretty amazing that she’s now 19 fricken years old, you know? Yes, she’s arthritic, cranky, poopy, skinny as a grasshopper, peeing everywhere, staring into space most of the time, but she’s actually pretty loving still, too. Sleeps right next to me, (well, um, in between me and Ted) and every once in a while let’s out a bit of a Meowrrr like the kitty I once knew.

Next post: my beanie cat collection!

Just kidding. Next post I’ll talk about writing/writers again. I promise.

a. Hermia, early 1990s