In my younger years, I never had much interest in having a cat.
I was brought up with the idea that a cat was for catching mice.
That was a long time ago.
Over the years, having 4 kids, from time to time we would somehow have a cat.
The kids would find a stray cat, or be given a kitten from a friend.
Because I worked 12-14 hours a day,most times I didn't even know there was a cat in the house for day.
I was a dog person, for more reasons than for a pet.
Because I worked long hours, I wanted to have a dog to protect my wife and kids.
There were times we had 2 or even 3 dogs.
And, sometimes, we also had a cat at the same time.
Now in my later years, the dogs are all gone, and we have a cat.
I belong to the cat.
I am her toy, her playmate, and her friend.
Cats have issues.
Not unlike kids, they need to be made part of the family.
You need to get into the mind of a cat.
They don't think like people, they think like cats.
When we adapted our cat from the animal shelter, she was very sick.
She wouldn't eat or even go use the litter box.
I had to get into her head to figure out exactly what her problem was, so it could be dealt with right away.
Because my wife and I were both working all day, Phoebe, would be left alone all day.
It was an adventure coming home to find out what she did.
And as the days went by, she could almost tell me what she did wrong, just by her actions.
It took a lot of understanding on my part, to help her with the transition of being part of our family.
Phoebe has been part of our family now for about 9 years.
We love her like you would any other family member.
If your thinking of making a cat part of your family, you need to help it be a happy addition, not a burden.
You need to get into their head.
You need to think like a cat.
And this should not be any surprise, but cats can easily be trained.
They have to be trained, to live the way you want them to live in your house.
They need to be kept healthy, just as any other family member.
You have to get into their mind, if you want to keep from going crazy.
Because, they can make you crazy.
They may act dumb, but they are far from it.
A cat is very smart and, can be trained as easy as a dog.
If you have a cat, and are having trouble with them scratching at furniture, or pooping on the floor, it's up to you to take the time to find out why they do these things, and it needs to be corrected.
There is almost no cat that can be trained, from biting, scratching, or just doing as they please.
There's a reason for everything, and that is true when it comes to the unruly behavior of cats.
Once you learn what their needs are, and correct what they do wrong, you we begin to enjoy your time with your cat.
You can have more fun than you ever thought you could, with your cat.
Phoebe does some incredible stuff, that I never thought a cat would, or even could do.
I never talk loud to her, I talk to her as I would with a person.
She listens to what I say and, you may not believe me but, she copies things I do.
Our cat is healthy, smart, and a pleasure to be with, most of the time.
Nobody is perfect!