200-lb Cats in the Room

Posted by Cynical Sarah on September 18, 2007

We’re a two cat household. You wouldn’t think that would be all that significant. Even in a two bedroom condo cats shouldn’t take up that much space. But with Catasterous and Hard Core, their presence is much larger than their physical size.

That became apparent this weekend as we took the opportunity of having a vehicle at our disposal to load up on cat food and kitty litter – two things that are a pain to haul on public transit.

I don’t think anything can make you more aware of being a pet owner than when you’re trolling the aisles of Costco looking for the biggest bags of cat food and kitty litter that you can find so you can buy yourself a few months of not having to try to cram onto the Skytrain with it.

Now those two giant bags of cat food and three containers of kitty litter are sitting in a corner of the dining area waiting for us to find some place out of the way to store them. Suddenly our two 10-pound kitties seem to take up a lot more of the condo than they should.

There isn’t a room untouched by our frisky kitties. Not that it’s necessarily their fault, but they have some sort of presence in every room in the place. One bathroom is also their place to do their business. They’ve got all sorts of toys as well as their special scratching post club house in the living room.

They’ve got their own special treat jar in the kitchen, and they pretty much sleep wherever they please, though Hard Core has her “official” bed in the computer room and Catasterous has claimed Helper Troy’s bathroom rug as her own.

What really makes them such a large presence in our home, though, is their personalities. They two polar opposites, but both larger than life.

Hard Core is the more friendly of the two cats, but also the more independent cat. She’s all fluffy and cute and will take any affection she can get from you. Sometimes she’ll even demand it as she sits right in front of you and pats your face with her paws until you give in and pet her.

Despite being almost seven years old, she’ll also wear you out playing if you’re willing. She’s all about chasing balls, playing catch, chasing lights and chasing Catasterous all over the condo.

She likes attention, she likes to play, but at the same time she doesn’t need us. It’s more like she’s happy to be with us, so she stays.

Catasterous, on the other hand, isn’t super social. She’s a bit of a little princess who has no problem ignoring us when we call her and pretty much doing what she likes.  She’s dainty, and though she’ll play on occasion, more often than not she’ll run and hide when toys come at her rather than playing.

While Hard Core will immediately start her purr motor whenever you even touch her, Catasterous is more picky about doling out affection. Despite her need to always be in the same room as her human roommates, she’s not always in the mood for actual affection.

Her friendliness is always on her terms. She cuddles and purrs when she wants to cuddle and purr – even if you’re busy typing on a laptop. She’ll step into your lap and start working her way in between the computer and you, so she can get the attention she wants.

But, like I said, even if she doesn’t want direct attention, she will follow us from room to room so she can keep us in her sights. She needs us and misses us a lot more when we’re gone for any length of time than Hard Core does.

In all their differences, though, the one thing they have in common is that they’re prime examples of how pets become a part of the family. Just like any other family member, even when they’re bitchy and you don’t always like them, they’re still family and you love them anyway.

- Sarah L. Polson

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Tags: humor, pets

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