Friday, August 15, 2008

That Darn Cat.

I'm a dog person.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind cats. I think most cats are very cute. I love kittens. I used to have cats when I was a kid, although in reality I never really had a real pet until I had Ginger. We just had random cats that hung out around our house and that we would feed leftovers to periodically. We didn't do thing like, take our animals to the vet. That cost money and we didn't have money.

Also, Girl Child is highly, HIGHLY allergic to cats. She can't be in the same room with a cat.

Our neighborhood has a cat however. I don't know to whom the cat belongs and I have no idea where it lives, but it roams about our neighborhood totally oblivious to the world around it.

The cat, I think, is deaf.

I discovered that the cat is deaf because one day I was attempting to go to work and the cat was trotting along in front of my car, merrily unaware that my 5000 pound death machine was behind it. I tooted my horn a bit, just to let it know so it would move over, but this also did not phase the cat.

Now, even though I'm a dog person I would never hit a cat at all, but I had to go to work and I had to drop Children People off at school.

The cat didn't care. It sat in the middle of the street and began to groom itself.

Girl Child was nonplussed. "Mom, cats are like that. They aren't very friendly."

True, many cats are kind of standoffish. But this was more.

"I think that cat is deaf," I said. "It's a deaf cat."

I moved around the cat gingerly, which let me just tell you is difficult to do in an SUV, and for some reason the cat noticed me.

It looked up at us.

Alarmed.

EXTREMELY ALARMED.

Boy Child laughed hysterically and said,

"Look at that cat! It's all like, 'WHAT THE HELL?'"

Which of course made me laugh so hard that I almost ran into the cat. But I didn't, so no worries.

Since then I've tried to find the cat's owner. I've asked everyone on our street and even some of the mean, weird people on the other streets around us. No one will claim poor, deaf, what-the-hell cat.

Boy Child, however, will occasionally run into the room, look at me extremely alarmed and shriek, "What the hell!"

So at least the poor cat is good for a laugh.

Honestly, though, for a deaf cat with no home it seems to be doing okay. It's not skinny and it appears to be happy other than when huge SUV's are behind it. I imagine the cat is doing okay.


But still. I wish the cat had a home. Or at least a place not on the street to groom itself.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great story. Thanks for the laugh! Not a big fan of the cats either by the way.

Frannie said...

poor kitters!

BandK said...

I love cats, and yes it sounds like that cat is deaf.

And cats don't have owners, btw. They have staff! LOL

Thanks for the laugh for the day.

AndreAnna said...

I'm an animal lover and right now we have two cats - and I totally give their expressions words. This story made me laugh out loud.

And is it sad that in my head one of my cats has an English accent and one is a stoner? Must blog about this now.

AndreAnna said...

Ok, you inspired a blog post. I am officially crazy.

Tricia said...

I have a complete picture in my head of what they cat looked like in that moment. Thank Boy Child for that! Too funny.

Poor little deaf kitty. I don't think they make kitty cochlear implants or hearing aids, but our dogs respond well to sign. We got so used to signing when we talk, we even sign to the dogs. Maybe you can sign to the kitty?!

Anonymous said...

Seriously, Boy Child is flippin' hilarious! LMAO!

Captain Steve said...

I once had a deaf cat. We still tried to call her all the time.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a cat person. I like them, I'm just allergic to them. I'd never hurt one, though.

In our complex, there's at least 4 cats that roam around. It's clear they're "outdoor" cats and to me? That's insane. Why have a pet if it's an "outside" pet?!

What the hell?!

:)

Kiki said...

I am a lover of all animals but I totally get what you are saying. My boyfriends cat is the biggest bitch I have ever met and she cries constantly in the middle of the night. Like I have nothing better to do than get out of bed to let you outside. Then, once she is out, she claws at the door to get back in! UGH! My dog never does that. He sleeps quietyly at the foot of my bed, keeping my feet warm.

Coal Miner's Granddaughter said...

Was it your average, normal "What the hell" feline expression, or much more alarmed than the normal "What the hell?" Because my cats aren't deaf and still look at me like, "What the hell?"

J said...

I love my cat, but he only loves me and D. He puts up with other people.

Some people try to call him mean, but those are the people who sit there and meow at him in his face for 10 minutes and then wonder why he bites them.

*Ahem, Allie*

Dawn~a~Bon said...

Aw, I hate that girl child thinks cats aren't friendly, although given her allergies, that's probably a good thing.

That poor cat. Is it the one I saw the other day?

Jan said...

Freakin' hilarious, that Boy Child is!!

Rachel (Crazy-Is) said...

Thanks to Boy Child, I can totally picture the face on that cat!