I'm a senior cat who lives with a silly girl. I know she loves me and takes good care of me, but sometimes her teasing is a bit too much for me. Lucky for me she spends hours at a time quietly doing her work. So, I can sleep and dream without her bothering me. And whenever I need her, she's not too faraway and usually available immediately.
I see we now have quite a few email subscribers now. For that I am a happy cat. Although with my original mission of this magazine, I don’t think it’s quite enough. I still want to support animal charities and pay the writing staff and others for their contributions to my magazine.
To do that, I need your help. Of course one of the biggest ways to support without money is by spreading the word and telling others how much you like my magazine. If you can’t afford to support us with money, then you can also order any of the books via your local library. If your library has Overdrive, I’d recommend the free Libby Overdrive app to read the books anywhere you find yourself.
If you are able, you may buy copies of the Cat Tales books listed on our Cat Tales page. Some books support specific charities or the actual writers. If a charity is supported, it is listed in the book’s description. Or you may sign up to make a regular donation every month via my girl’s Patreon account. The lowest tier is US$5 per month. Depending upon which tier you choose, you might be able to influence the content of this magazine. I know my girl will take any requests seriously and do her best to make them a reality.
In case you’re wondering, when you support my girl you also support me, Sir Socks. Unfortunately cats don’t usually have money. My girl tends to have more than I do and doesn’t mind sharing with me.
When all three of us had established a routine, my girl decided to build a dollhouse. As I’ve written before, she is insane and will admit it. I wasn’t interested in getting close to the dollhouse. So, I stayed back and meditated. My girl is typically active and doing something. She typically has some kind of project going on. It wasn’t anything new with her. Spot and Isis had to get up close to see what my girl was doing.
They had to watch. I don’t know why they had to watch, and they both thought she built the dollhouse just for them. As you can see from the pictures, they both liked the dollhouse my girl put together by herself. I’m no judge of crafting, so I can’t tell you how good or how bad it turned out. All you have is the pictures to base your own judgements on.
At least Spot and Isis liked the dollhouse my girl built. I was never into toys as those two were. I prefer to ponder and meditate. So, you can see why I don’t care for those two whenever they attacked me. I’d asked them to leave me alone, but nope, those young ones just had to play with me too. It was much better when they played together and left me alone.
My girl loves dollhouses. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. But she had fun with this project. She decided to build it even though there were three of us living with her. I watched from afar. I didn’t care to get close and check it out. Both Spot and Isis had to check it out as she was building it.
photo taken by Ali Noel Vyainphoto taken by Ali Noel Vyain
I don’t know where they got an idea like that. Not from me. They got close and watched her build it. They got so close they were nearly in her way. They weren’t afraid of what she was doing. It was quite a sight. I can’t tell you if she did a good job or not. I didn’t inspect it or test it out.
But Spot did. He got top of the dollhouse more than once. He would jump on it and it held together. You have to understand he was bigger than I was when he was fully grown. And bigger than Isis. Unbelievable. I don’t think he ever grew up. He is just a big kitten and probably will be all the way to the end of his life.
photo taken by Ali Noel Vyain
It was a big dollhouse and to me it wasn’t that great of a thing in our home. But Spot and Isis both liked it. Well, so much the better for them. My girl was proud of herself for building it all by herself. Although I could tell she was frustrated by it. She’d complain the instructions weren’t written well. She’d complain about her crafting skills. Yet, even I have to admit, it was quite an accomplishment for her.
She is a writer. So, she would know how well the instructions were written. I wouldn’t know. I never read the instructions. But she was happy to build such a thing in front of us. I can’t even complain about this project other than the noise. It made her happy. It helped to keep Spot and Isis occupied and entertained. My family was there and yet kind enough to let me have some peace. That’s all I care about.
What is it about the combination of cats and humans? I’ve asked myself many times. Too many humans are annoying and don’t like me. They think I’m too whiny. But not my girl. She always thought I had legitimate complaints. She did her best to take care of the problems and make my life more comfortable. She has succeeded so well that I don’t need to talk all the time anymore.
Hmm. I suppose some combinations of cats and humans work out well. I would hope if the cat is a familiar to a witch that those combinations are good too. Helping out everyone on this planet. Bringing love and healing to those who need it. Otherwise what would be the point? I’m not into destruction. I’m into building. Strong, sturdy relationships which will last throughout time and across death. Beyond death itself. I want bonds that last and won’t dissolve when one of us dies.
The age old story of cats and dogs. The famous sayings that we’re not meant to get along. I don’t usually like dogs. Although I’ve been associating with some on Twitter. They aren’t so bad on Twitter. In real life, they have tormented and chased me. But not always. Some were fans of cats. But I still didn’t like them. Even my girl tried to tell me about the one dog who wanted to get to know me better. He was a major cat fan. He even lived with a cat.
I don’t get it. I’m used to the mean sort of dogs who will kill us cats given the chance. Not like the dog who likes to play with Nuri. She isn’t me. She doesn’t attack this dog who is bigger than she is, but still a small dog. Nuri tends to smell him, but he usually gets too hyper for her. It is kind of funny in a way. She handles herself better with dogs than I ever have.
Except for those on Twitter. What is it about Twitter that makes it okay for me to have something to do with dogs? I know they can’t attack me. Perhaps that’s part of it. That and I can’t smell them.
My girl is a crazy cat lady. There could be no doubt of it by this time. I know her so well. I was happy with her and Spot. I didn’t even mind if the fairies came to visit me on those rare occasions when they would make me run around crazily. But I nearly had no warning for this new cat. Apparently, there was one who needed a new home and my girl was asked.
Of course my girl could not say no to another cat. What crazy cat lady can? Especially to a cat who is in trouble?
When Isis first arrived, she wasn’t fixed and she was an adult. Spot and I tried to teach her her place. We cats must have an established order. It is much easier to create with new kittens. But adults are an entirely different matter. My girl actually intervened in this. I don’t understand why. She never had before this. But my girl would tell us to stop trying to dominate Isis. She would scream even though Spot and I are eunuchs. We couldn’t get her pregnant.
I did stop when my girl asked. Then Isis would slap me with her forepaw. I was completely confused. Why was my girl telling me not to do that to Isis? And Isis didn’t like it either. Was it a girl thing? I know they are both women. *Sigh.*
When it was my girl’s bedtime, she would give Isis her own litter box, a water bowl, and a food bowl. Then Isis would be isolated from Spot and me. What that necessary?
Whenever Spot or I was on Isis, she would fuss and complain and eventually scream. It’s the way cats protest against having another cat dominate them. I suppose it doesn’t sound pleasant to most humans. We did live in an apartment with neighbors close by.
Then my girl took things a step further. She took Isis out of our home for several hours. My girl said it was to get Isis fixed. Isis thought my girl was silly to talk to her about the operation. But it happened. When it was time, my girl took Isis away. My girl came back later without Isis. I was terribly upset and asked my girl to bring the new cat back.
photos taken by Ali Noel Vyain
What was wrong with me? I was upset when Isis had come and then I was upset when my girl had taken her away. My girl assured me it wouldn’t be long before she’d bring Isis back. But I couldn’t understand what was happening to me. To our family. Once again my girl the whirlwind had introduced another element into our life.
And here were the results. Me complaining that the new cat was gone. That same day, my girl left the apartment again to return later with Isis! I was happy. I missed the black cat while she was out to a place I had no idea of.
But when Isis came back, she was out of it and not walking all on four paws. She didn’t even want to come out of her carrier right away. That’s odd behavior for a cat. Spot went over to her to greet her. She didn’t like that and my girl pulled him out of the carrier. I suppose Isis was acting that way because of whatever the humans had given her. She certainly smelled different now.
Eventually, Isis came out and soon acting like her old self. It was after this that she decided I was an okay cat to have around. I was relieved. I didn’t want to lose her after she had came into our lives. Besides, she was a good playmate for Spot. I was happy when they played together. It meant they would leave me alone. So much the better.
photo taken by Ali Noel Vyain
Isis was a bit different too. She knew she couldn’t get pregnant. That’s probably why she was okay with me after her surgery. Spot and I no longer tried to dominate her. My girl was relieved we were all getting along better. She no longer isolated Isis when it was bedtime. We were all much quieter again. So the neighbors didn’t need to be bothered by our antics.
So Isis became a part of the family. We got along. I could meditate as much as I wanted. Spot had a good playmate and it didn’t have to be me now that I was a senior cat. My life couldn’t have been better.
Grooming is very important to us cats. I would hope it’s just as important to you humans as well. Although with some of you, it’s quite obvious that it isn’t.
We cats groom a lot every day. After we eat or after we come in contact with dirty things. We need to be clean. How else do you think our coats will be so shiny if we didn’t groom so much? We have to get rid of the loose hairs that are falling off our coats. We have to sharpen our claws and shed them when it’s time.
It does take a lot of time and effort to groom ourselves. Sometimes we can’t reach everywhere. That can happen as we age. We might not be a limber as we were when we were young. So, we get a buddy and groom each other.
My girl tended to brush my coat. I loved it when she did that. Certainly it helped to get rid of the excess hair that was ready to come off. And it felt great. She understood my need for grooming and didn’t mind helping me out.
We had to move a couple of more times, but this last place was our own. So, I finally got my wish with her. It is the last place I remember living at. This was also the place in which Isis came to live with us. My girl was working a regular job outside of our home again too.
I was glad when we could stay in the same place for years. This was a comfort after all the moving around we did. I just hope my girl doesn’t have to keep moving when she doesn’t like it so well. Having a safe and stable home is a wonderful thing to have. It’s the place you go to when you need to hide from the world.
That’s how I feel about it. I still believe that home is a place you can come back to time and time again. Adventures can be good from time to time, but a safe place to hide and be loved is a must in this crazy world. Home is not just for cats, but also everyone who needs one. So I can’t complain when this was the last place we lived in together.
It was safe. It was stable. It was home. It had a great view. I could keep an eye out on humans who came and went on the street and the sidewalk. I could look down on them. I know Spot loved the view too. He watched lots of humans everyday. We watched my girl too.
It was clear that she was a crazy cat lady who couldn’t say no to us because we are cats. It’s as simple as that. I wasn’t alone at this time of my life. I was a senior cat and I could enjoy my naps and meditation. My girl gave me all the love and attention I needed whenever I asked for it.
I could not ask for more from the home she gave us. By this time I had become a quiet cat. I was so quiet that my girl’s mother couldn’t believe it. She just didn’t understand. She thought I was still a loud whiny cat. Well, my girl understood me so well that I didn’t have to ask her for much of anything.
I could enjoy my senior years without worry. I was content and relaxed. I was surrounded by my family in our last home we shared together. We were happy. All of us. I was aging and my girl could see some signs of it. She would look at my coat and see some white hairs speckled throughout my black hair. She’d ask me if I was getting old on her. I just looked at her and said nothing. I’d close my eyes and go to sleep seeing her smile at me.
I knew she was just teasing. She was making an observation. She does the same thing to herself and it doesn’t bother her to see fine lines forming around her eyes. If she stares at her silvery hairs streaked in her French black hair for too long, she laughs. She now wears lined bifocals. She’s not ashamed. She knows she is getting older. I doubt she will care as long as she doesn’t get sick.
But when we age and get sick on top of it, it’s no fun, as I will discuss in the last chapter. So, I hope my girl continues to enjoy good health that gets better not worse.
After some time, my girl was able to get another apartment for the three of us. We were there for a time. Moving wasn’t fun, but after all our things were in and we were there, things got better fast. There was another sleeping alcove. She put up a curtain to make it dark and cozy just as before. Spot and I used to cuddle and sleep on her bed. It didn’t matter if she was there or not.
It was a noisy place. Much too noisy. Spot and I thought there would be strangers coming into the apartment. But there weren’t. It was just us. I’m glad it was just us. Strangers bother me. I don’t know if I can trust them. My girl understands that. She managed to get some good pictures of me and of Spot in this place.
We could hear our next door neighbors. There was at least one cat who meowed loudly enough to rival my vocal prowess. My girl thought we would end up talking to each other. But being cats knowing we lived on the opposite side of the wall and in a different apartment, we ignored each other.
The walls were too thin there. We could hear the neighbors watching tv. It wasn’t good for my girl. She had to go to bed earlier than they did and so she had a hard time falling asleep while they were watching tv. I did what I could for her, but it wasn’t very much.
But we didn’t stay here forever. I don’t know why. My girl never told us why. She just packed up our things and got us ready. We have moved too many times during our time together. I still don’t know why. My girl didn’t like it anymore than we did. I could tell by the way she was acting.
I just hope she will be okay sooner or later. I get that sometimes she has to work outside of our home, wherever it may be, and I miss her when she’s gone. But she does come home and pays attention to us. I just wish she could stay here all the time and work here instead.
I wonder how she would like that. But she has done that quite often. She seems happier when she works here at home than outside somewhere. Sure we could watch her leave the building. I’ve seen her many times on the street or sidewalk just outside. When that happened, she would wave at me.
I knew that it would be any minute that she would come through the door. So, I’d turn around and face the door. She’d get the message and come home in a matter of minutes. I just wish we could have stayed in the same place together for years and years. Moving around all the time was awful to deal with. My girl knew that and yet she was still able to keep us together though that rough period of her life.
But it wasn’t to be in this place either. *Sigh.* It makes me wish I could have done something to help her out. But I’m just a cat. There wasn’t anything I could do but offer my moral support. It wasn’t enough and she knows it as well as I do.
But I did at least get my wish. Eventually, we were able to stay in one place for years. It was the last home we shared together.
Smell is very important to us cats. We have an excellent sense of smell. We know each individual human and cat has a unique smell. Sure those of you who are related smell similarly, but you still have a unique smell. You humans may not be entirely aware of it. As I understand it, cats have a much better sense of smell than you humans do. We do appreciate humans who bathe regularly. Otherwise you will smell bad. It’s not pleasant. Please clean up for us.
We also appreciate a clean place to live in. If you’re a slob, your place will smell bad to us. If you’re good about cleaning up after yourself, and usually my girl is, then your place will smell better to us. Definitely keep up with your dirty laundry. That can smell bad too. Unless, like your shoes, your dirty clothes smell just like you. Our favorite human in the whole wide world.
I used to be an indoor and outdoor cat. I came and went as I pleased. That was until after I had lived with my girl for some time. At first, she wouldn’t let me out at all. Eventually, she let me out when she left to go to school. When she came home, so did I. Although, she once saw me on her way home and I was running in the opposite direction. As soon as I realized it was her calling me, I ran back to the porch where the door to where our first home was. She came around to the porch after locking up her tricycle and we went inside where little Spot was waiting. We were all happily reunited after a day apart.
At least that was how it was once. But this new place was where we came after a long plane trip trapped in a cage in the cargo hold. I had no idea where we were. I didn’t realize the climate was different. The ground was certainly different here than where I was born and raised. I soon found out quite by accident…
I managed to get outside once at this place. Someone had left the front door open and I took the chance. I walked outside on the porch. Then I walked off and past the sidewalk. I stopped when I had reached the grass. The ground was much too soft. Where was I? I hollered for help. I couldn’t help it. I was so confused and scared.
My girl came up behind me and talked to me. I was too upset to notice what was different with the tone of her voice. Then she scooped me up from behind and carried me back inside the house. Trust me, it didn’t take long for me to calm down after that. I don’t appreciate someone catching me and picking me up, but I was freaked out and once again my girl saved me. She carried me back inside to safety.
I didn’t go outside after that. It was too strange and scary for me. Besides, I could hear dogs out there. I have never liked dogs. Also my girl was inside with me. She was looking out for me. Better than anyone else ever could. I had no reason to go out after that.
I was used to hard dirt. Not soft grass. I didn’t know how to react or what to do. Besides, my foreclaws were gone now. How would I defend myself against another cat? I didn’t know. I did know there were plenty of strange cats out there. One even came up to the house and tried to talk to my girl. Spot and I weren’t having it. We told the newcomer he wasn’t welcome to my girl and his mama.
We were the two cats here and we weren’t allowing another to come in. My girl didn’t say or do anything. I know she heard the cat. Perhaps she had remembered the other cat that had come to her? That much have been it. That one was a full fledged tom cat. He was a lean mean hunting machine. He had lived in the desert, where I’m from.
But Spot and I wouldn’t allow him into our home either. My girl tried to help him, but to this day, she can’t say what had happened to that cat. I know she must have cared. She even tried to call after he was placed into a shelter. But she never found out anything.
So, she probably was afraid to do anything wondering if the first cat who had tried to join us had been killed in the shelter. I think she also didn’t want to upset Spot or me. We were her priority. A new cat was another added responsibility that she couldn’t afford to have. Seeing it from her point of view makes me very grateful that she never got rid of us and did what she could to keep us together.
I knew my hunting days were over. But my girl would feed me well. That much I knew I could rely on. What would I have done without her? I have no idea. I think I would have died early without her care and love. Sadly, my claws and teeth aren’t the best. I have lost most of my teeth over my life. I don’t know why it happened to me. My claws tend to be brittle too. But as I have written before, my girl takes such good care of me, I don’t have to worry about going hungry.
I know how much she loves me too. She shows me by giving me wet food whenever I ask for it. She even told me she’d keep even if I ever lose all my teeth. She is so sweet and kind. I’m glad she’s a part of my life even though she is a whirlwind.
Sir Socks Le Chat 