Merlin’s death threw us for a loop, especially my husband, as he was his cat. Like when Sprinkles died, I started wanting a kitten, I guess to take my mind off Merlin. My sister-in-law told us that their outdoor cat was pregnant, so I eagerly awaited Labor Day (heh, heh, heh). When the time came, SIL sent me a picture of the kittens, and I chose a little cream-colored one, who was lighter than his siblings.
As usual, we were told he was a girl and I named him Theodora Corduroy, Theo for short. Theodora is a witch, Corduroy was a nickname Mom called my brother. Weeks later at his appointment, we found out he was a male, so switched his name to Theodore Corduroy. He got much darker as he grew and is now a blond tabby with a dark back and light tummy.
To be perfectly honest, Theo is a butthole and very manipulative. He is a biter when we are petting him, which I think is possibly over-stimulation. He’s very curious, because he’s a cat, and he shows this curiosity by rubbing his head all over me and head-butting me. He does the same when he is jealous.
When he wants people food (which he never eats), he demands attention and falls over and rolls all over the place. He has fallen off surfaces before because I couldn’t catch him in time, which never seems to phase him. He rolls around a lot.
Theo is my cat and usually gets what he wants because he is so cute and acts so lovable. He is also a total chicken and will come to me and climb into my arms when he is scared or doesn’t feel well. For some reason, all the males have chosen me. Piper is hubby’s cat, and I think that is because he is the one who “rescued” her.
I was done getting cats. I’ve never had four before, so this was new territory. Three weeks after getting Theo, hubby comes home with a minute tortoiseshell kitten in his hand and gives her to me. I walked around the house cuddling her, thinking over having a household of five cats while being broke. I said yes, because how could I not? If I said no, she would be an outdoor cat at my SIL’s, and SIL’s boyfriend said all of them die very young because they are/get sick. Frankly, I thought she was very ugly. I named her Willow Cordelia, witches from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and American Horror Story, respectfully.
Having two kittens only 3 weeks apart was a chore, especially since I’m the one who takes care of them completely in the beginning. Both babies wanted to be held pretty much constantly, so I fashioned a sling out of two of hubby’s tube socks and a COVID face mask. I would usually have one in the sling and the other in my arm. When I only had one, I could still do my work while holding them.
Willow grew to be so cute and squishy, with short legs. She is a Daddy’s Girl. She is so funny and has such a personality, just like Theo. They are half-siblings with the same father. She is on her back 95% of the time, which just cracks me up, and I think it is because she has hip issues and is bowlegged. She has a very weird walk, like she can’t bend her legs properly. Again, the vet didn’t seem concerned. Like Theo, she gets jealous, especially when I am interacting with my husband. That’s her man! She is very brave, unlike her brother.
Although both cats are going to be two this year, we still call them The Babies when talking about them. They have certainly spiced up our home and continue to entertain us.
Merlin was a unicorn who left us in late 2020. There was really no one like him. We miss him so much still. At the time, we had Piper and Gandalf, both a year old. We lost Mom’s cat, Ashes, quite acutely to a blood clot the year prior. I started paying attention to a black stray who liked to lie on the porch on his back and wiggle around like he had an itch. I pretended my husband had a say in me bringing him inside because everyone needs a win sometimes.
After my husband “allowed” me to bring Merlin in, we were smitten. He is, of course, named after the great wizard, Merlin, and I chose Haggard as his middle name because of Merle Haggard. He wanted out a lot in the beginning and would cry at the screen door, but eventually he got used to being inside. He did not know how to play or purr. He didn’t see the logic in attacking a toy if it wasn’t posing a threat or edible. Vet aged him around 6 months.
I was very concerned about him not purring because that is how cats show affection and self-soothe. As time progressed, he finally purred very quietly while hubby was petting him and then started to do it more. He also became the most playful cat in the world after a year or two in his home.
Merlin loved grocery day! After unbagging the groceries, I would sit on the floor and parachute a plastic bag above, then over his head and he would bat at it frantically and just smile by showing his fangs. We played like this around 30 minutes every week. He also absolutely loved when I got up to go to the bathroom or kitchen. He would hide from me and lunge at my feet when I walked by. He followed me into the bathroom and got pets while I was in there. Sometimes, we sat in the empty bathtub together.
Most of the time, I could see him hiding from me because he wasn’t very good at it. When I didn’t see him and he genuinely surprised me, I would squeak out of surprise, which he just thought was great fun, apparently. I started being startled each time and he got so excited and would rattlesnake his tail and bounce around the kitchen. He would smile by showing us his fangs and do so only when he was happy or excited.
Merlin was truly hubby’s cat, and whenever he was going to bed, he would say, “It’s bedtime,” and Merlin would run past him and hop up on the bed and start pawing at the blacklight poster while waiting for his dad. That is something hubby just can’t get over since losing him to urinary problems at just 5 years old. His death broke both of us and we still talk about him a lot.
Cari R Esta 