This Dog Person Learns to Appreciate Cats

Once upon a time I was a professed cat hater. I'm ashamed to admit it now. I couldn't see the attraction of an animal that was so aloof and untrainable. My dogs would always come when I called, stay when commanded, fetch a ball and all those other fun doggy things. My friends with cats would coo and tempt with treats and toys and their cats would just look at them with some sort of imperial disdain. I've always believed the old saying that you own a dog and you feed a cat pretty much summed up the difference between the two species.

So what brought about my change of heart? One very special cat that we named Moses. Moses showed up on our farm one very rainy day crying at the top of his lungs. He might have been six weeks old at the most. This kitten wanted to be fed and dry and he wanted everyone to know it. My son, who was 9 years old at the time, rescued the kitten from the rain and brought him in the house. Of course there was much pleading on the cat's behalf, to the extent that I caved and went to the store to purchase all of the cat paraphernalia that any self respecting dog lover could think of.

Moses grew into a beautiful cat with the most unusual color of turquoise eyes that anyone had ever seen. The most important thing about Moses though, was the fact that he was an excellent mouser. On a farm keeping the rodent population down is not only a good thing, it's a necessary thing. I also think that while Moses was out hunting he was also spreading the word to the local feline community that there was food and shelter to be found at our farm.