My Cat Continues to Inspire Me

My Cat Continues to Inspire Me . . .

His name is Humphrey and he’s all mine.

All 12 pounds of him.

My mostly Maine Coon inspired me to write my first entry for this site, and I do believe I can continue to write more about how he runs my life.

Or should I say, influence and inspire.

He’s at my feet now. Keeping me company as I type away.

I’ve seen pictures of cats who sit on computers, printers, fax machines, and desks while their human staffers work.

Mine has NEVER jumped on the desk. I wouldn’t mind if he did, just to be close to me.

Since we adopted him when he was about a year old, we don’t know the traumas he went through as a kitten. But there must have been some.

He is afraid of just about everything, that’s for sure. Loud sounds, contractors, electricians, garbage trucks and the men who staff them, hair dryers, going outside in the yard, plastic bags. You name it.

Maybe someone tried to put him in a trash bag once. Sure hope not.

As soon as we adopted His Highness we had him fixed, and have kept him inside ever since.

Occasionally I scoop him up, open the door and let him sniff some fresh air. I tried a kitty leash once, but he just dragged his butt on the walkway.

That ended that idea.

My spouse, RV, uses a wheelchair and has come up with some interesting ways to interact with Humphrey. Since RV can’t reach over too far, he uses some nifty implements that extend his reach with which to scritch the little guy’s tummy and other scritchable places.

I know, scritch isn’t a real word, but it’s close to scratch, isn’t it?

RV talks to Humphrey, about everything from how the stock market is doing to what kind of tomatoes we planted this year.

He even sings to the cat, and trust me, RV is not a singer.

His most creative ditty he sings to the kitty is sung to the tune of “Copacabana,” with apologies to Barry Manilow.

“Hisname is Humphrey, he is a kitty,

Fluffy gray and white fur, this cat’s always ready to purr…”

Yes, this feline has taken over our lives.

Only problem for us is, we have just one life. Humphrey has nine.