Hannah and Harley

I divide the world into two kinds of people: cat people and dog people. Oh, occasionally, you may run into the bi-petual owners that have both under the same roof. When I was but a lad on the farm, we were principally dog people. There were cats around, but they called the barn their domain, were there to protect and defend the cow feed and at the same time find their own food source, the mouse.

Occasionally we would corner a rat behind that last bag of grain. For that duty you needed Skippy, the shepherd/collie cross who wasn't afraid of being the bouncer to the larger varmint.

As an adult, I gravitated towards the cat. With the failure of my first marriage, I sought solace in an orange tabby I got from the Humane Society. I named her "Rose Aylmer" after the cat that belonged to Scout's uncle in "To Kill a Mockingbird". Scout's uncle, as I recall, was a bachelor doctor and when Scout asked him why he had a cat he told her that Rose Aylmer was the only woman he could live with. That pretty much was my state of mind at the time.

Rose was a great cat, a real lover.

I had already picked up a cat through one of the secretaries at work. that one didn't last long. the first time a "youth for Christ" came to my apartment door, that cat made the fastest exit recorded in the history of cat escapes.

It's true, you know. You don't really adopt a cat. A cat will adopt you if you meet certain unbeknownst feline standards they themselves set in their little kitty minds.

I waited a couple days and then went to the shelter to see if the escapee had been picked up. As I walked into the room full of cages, there in the corner cage was this orange tabby who was imploring me, loudly, and waving (I'm not making this up!) waving at me to come say hello. When I reached out to touch the little paw she extended, she began kissing my hand in the way kitties can kiss, with profuse licking.

I was immediately taken.

The gal asked if this was my cat. I said no. the gal asked if I saw my cat in any of the cages. I did. She was over on the other side, bottom row. She was not waving.

So I lied. "No," I said, "I don't see her here. But this cat really seems to like me. Is it all right if I adopt this one?" So I filled out the papers and so began a wonderful friendship that lasted through seeing me remarry and a major house move. Rose is buried along side of our house. We still have a framed photo of her in the bed room.

Kim and I went without a cat for a while. Then Patti Stangel, who at the time was operating Patti's Cafe, convinced me to come over to her house and look at these really cute kittens. I did and immediately was head over heels with both of them, a brother and sister team.

Now if I could only get Kim to come see them. I knew there was no way I could talk her into both, but we would at least adopt one of them.

Kim came with me one day and was equally smitten. She surprised me, though. she asked Patti if we could have them both as she couldn't stand breaking them up.

So began the era of Hannah and Harley. Hannah is the short one, lighter in color, and a real ball of fire. When you come to our house, you know who owns it. Hannah does. She is the sweetest and the most loving cat when she is with her idol: Kim.
To everyone else she is a wailing banshee. this cat has a temper! I have full grown friends who are frightened of her.

Harley, on the other hand, is the long one, dark in color, and he is Mr. Laid Back when there is no one visiting. If we get company, he gets lost. He is afraid of his own shadow. He is Larry's buddy.

Come feeding time, I don't need to tell you who eats first. I guess that explains that even though she looks smaller, she weighs as much as Harley does.

Two cats make for a lot of hair everywhere. And a lot of changing the litter box. They don't mean to, but two cats are also a certain way to ensure that you will be buying new furniture at a later date. When they have both passed on?

Can't believe I just wrote about the cats. Well, yes I can. They are great company and we love them both.