If I had to sum up life with Cheetah in one word? Smitten. She’s the fluffy pet we never knew we were missing. As you may remember, we adopted Cheetah at the end of the summer last year. Not knowing a thing about cats and having declared myself not a “cat person,” it was probably the best uninformed decision I’ve ever made. All of the concerns I had about living with a cat have dissolved. She is pretty much the best thing ever.
After the vet declared her perfectly healthy, I had Cheetah spayed. We lived through one of her heats and that was enough for me. Oh, the mooooaning. She had an uneventful recovery and has remained healthy ever since.
Luckily, Cheetah hasn’t given me any reasons to even consider declawing. I clip her nails at home with these every other week. She doesn’t hate it; she doesn’t love it. She isn’t much of a scratcher and when she does scratch she sticks to her post and cardboard lounger. I’m happy to report she hasn’t destroyed anything. (Our tree made it through the holidays unscathed.) She sometimes reaches up and stretches on the gray chair in the living room pulling loose a few threads (I just snip them with scissors), so when we leave the house I throw a blanket or two over the chair to protect it. It works. She likes to bat at and knock off the wood balls on the brass & string art in the entry. Currently, there are no balls on the strings. I just think of it as multipurpose: art + cat toy ;)
As for shedding, I’ve just started noticing a few clumps of hair here and there. I think she’s starting to shed her winter coat. We had a dog several years ago that shed like crazy. Like awful. So a few clumps are nothing. I can live with that. I give her a quick brush every week or so.
Obviously, the kids adore her. They take turns feeding her. Cheetah meows at the boys’ bedroom door early every morning. (This is the only time she meows…she’s so quiet! Her purr is barely audible.) She has figured out that Layne is usually the first one up and she wants him to come play with her. Everett just loves on her. He holds her like a baby and talks to her and she soaks it up. Mabrey is a little more, um, rough. She carries Cheetah around like a rag doll and there have been a few hits / kicks. Cheetah is a good sport about it though. She hasn’t scratched Mabrey once. (If I were a cat, I think I would have.) I love spying on the two of them together during the day. Mabrey talks to Cheetah like they’re girlfriends. It’s so cute.
Cheetah is kinda a second mother to the kids. When one of them is upset, she sits quietly next to them like she’s concerned. At night, when we put the kids to bed, she always comes into their rooms as if to say goodnight. Then she waits outside the door until Steve and I come out into hallway. After the kids are in bed for the night, Cheetah is the cuddliest lil’ thing. Steve and I have been binge-watching Breaking Bad (yes, I know it’s 2015…we’re a little behind) in the evenings. Cheetah curls up in my lap and it’s the sweetest. I never knew cats could be so snuggly.
I think it’s weird that she has a different favorite napping spot each day. It’s been the bottom bunk, my desk stool, a shelf in my closet, under a blanket, Mabrey’s bed, Mabrey’s closet, the mantel, the top of the media cabinet, the changing pad in the nursery (that we don’t use anymore but I can’t get rid of because Cheetah likes it…I AM THAT LADY), various baskets, the bench by the front door, the bench in the mudroom, a dining chair, a sheepskin rug, etc. Sometimes I can’t find her in the usual spots and I’m surprised when I find her camped out somewhere new. She finds all the places. She never naps on my and Steve’s bed during the day but she does curl up behind my knees at night. Of course, I contort my body around her so as not to disturb her. I am also that lady.
I think it’s fair to say this kitty has converted us, along with a few extended family members who previously labeled themselves “not cat people.” I’ve even caught myself going out of my way to walk past the kitties up for adoption at the pet store. Insanity.
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
family life, kid-friendly