Saturday, January 14, 2012

Cat Lady Intervention

A little while back, I asked Laura if she was a "Cat Lady" and she responded with an adamant "no!" Being the loving, kind husband that I am, I didn't argue with her denial. I stepped away and pondered the situation.

I began thinking about the evidence...

Exhibit A:

Laura, unknown age

Laura has always loved to read books. She reads all sorts of books. In the above picture, she is reading a children's book, A Bargain for Frances, a story involving badgers. 

Laura and Buddy, Jan 2012

Laura still loves to read and her reading posture hasn't changed much over the years, but what has changed is the presence of a lap cat, which makes every book better.

Exhibit B:

The Toy Shop Mystery by Flora Gill Jacobs

This is one of the few surviving books from Laura's childhood. The cat shown on the cover is Annie, a Siamese who helps solve the toy shop mystery. 

Exhibit C:

Today, Laura continues to enjoy books. It's not uncommon for her to come home with a selection of kitty books. Some are picture books and others informational.

Exhibit D:

Laura holding "Fat Cat", unknown age

Here is Laura in her early stages of Cat Lady development. She grew up on a farm in Michigan. Fat Cat was one of the farm cats. Not sure if Fat Cat is enjoying being squeezed in the middle, but it looks like Laura is enjoying holding Fat Cat.

Exhibit E: 

Laura holding Theo, Jan 2012

As shown in this picture, Laura continues to enjoy holding cats. Thankfully for the cat's sake, her handling technique has improved over the years.

Exhibit F:

Laura's writing desk, Jan 2012

Laura has taken to bringing home cat-themed items, including this handmade cat doll. Also notice the cat bookmark in the background.

I've saved the most convincing pieces of evidence for last.

Exhibit G:

Laura holding Max, Sept 2008

Laura is the reason Fourwhitepaws Hobby Cattery came into existence. September 2, 2006, Laura called me asking if I wanted a cat. She was over helping a friend move and the friend had offered to give us Max if we wanted him. Up until this moment in time, we had never talked about getting a cat. Max was the kitty who forever opened our hearts to the many joys of cats. 

Exhibit H:

Rose, Jan 2012

It was a Saturday morning in September 2010. The day prior, I had rescued Rose, an 8 week old frightened kitten, from the engine compartment of a truck in front of the house. She was scared as she tried to disappear in the carrier as she awaited transport to the shelter. Laura pulled her from the carrier and held her close to her heart. It's now over a year later and Rose still occupies her heart.

When I first met Laura, over twenty years ago, she didn't have much openness to companion animals. For me, having grown up with dogs, I was eager to get a small dog, but Laura wasn't interested. I tried all sorts of things to get her interested, including bringing her to dog shows where she could see lots of options. At one show she spoke six words that rocked my world, "That one is kind of cute," as she was looking at a Chihuahua.

Years went by and over time Laura's heart softened. Max played a huge role in that transformation. Each of our cats forever owns a piece of her heart. One of the many wonderful things I love about Laura is her kind, compassionate heart toward animals. 

Happy Anniversary Laura the Cat Lady, the love of my life.

16 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary to you both. Such a lovely, heart-warming post. Nice to see a couple who can weather life's storms together and still be content with each other's company.

    BTW, in Exhibit E, Theo's kitty lip, probably caught on his tooth, gives him a long-suffering, "see what I have to put up with" expression. That or a bit of an Elvis lip curl. LOL.

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  2. Happy Anniversary....and congrats on being a cat lady!!! And being married to a great cat guy!! Sometimes all it takes is meeting that one special animal to "convert" people. :)

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  3. ::between happy tears::

    What a love letter! Happy Anniversary to the both of you!

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  4. ... you are quite someone. Helen, Darcy and Bingley xxx

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  5. Happy Anniversary! Cat ladies are the best!

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  6. I think you've proved your point. Happy Anniversary Cat people! This post is the nicest anniversary card I've ever seen.

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  7. Happy Anniversary to you both! This is a wonderful, heart-warming post and testimony to your love for Laura. I love how she loves books. I do too and also grew up reading and had a love for books starting at a young age, and I agree that a cat makes reading even better.

    That's a beautiful portrait of Rose!

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  8. Cats and books go well together. It was only a matter of time.."Happy Anniversary".

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  9. How sweet is that. Congratulation to both of you. I wish my husband would write something like that. She's a lucky lady.

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  10. This warmed my heart! I love cats and I've been lucky to have men in my life who also have found a place for them there. Happy Anniversary to you both and lucky cats to live with such kind, warm and loving folks!

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  11. What a sweet post !! Happy Anniversary to the both of you....and your kitteh-kids ! I'm sorry Laura, but I think your man has made a strong case for your cat lady-hood....it's ok though, your amoung friends here ;D

    I can't tell you how much I REALLY enjoy your blog, what a blessing for us to read a blog filled with such positive energy ! Love your writing and LOVE your pictures !!! Keep up the great work with the blog, and the kittens !! I admire and applaud your rescue efforts :D

    Oh, and I agree....reading & cat holding are a wonderful pair ! ;D

    Have a lovely day,

    Beth Ann.....aka Queeno Cats =^..^=

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    1. Wow...you have a lot of convincing information that may prove that Laura is a "Cat Lady." She may be fooling herself thinking she is not. Love the post, esp. with the older photos. We also really like the photo of Laura reading with a cat sprawled across her lap. Great photo. Happy Anniversary Laura.

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  12. Happy Anniversary! The evidence is clear, your dearly beloved is most definitely a Cat Lady. On a scale of 1-10, the facts you have presented have given her a 10/10 score. Plus...she is awarded a blue ribbon in the 'loving heart' CATegory. Candace

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  13. Fab anniversary gift ideas for crazy cat people: Archie McPhee has a Crazy Cat Lady Action Figure or Crazy Cat Lady Cat Food Scented Soap or Crazy Cat Lady Board Game or Crazy Cat Lady Mini Milk Bottle Drinking Glasses or, get ready for this, Bubble Gum Hairballs.... all gifts any Cat Lady would love. (Sorry, Laura. I know I am encouraging him.)
    http://www.mcphee.com/shop/search.php?search_query=crazy+cat+lady&x=0&y=0

    Hmmm.... Interesting that the Crazy Cat Lady Action only comes with six cats, while the Fourwhitepaws Hobby Cattery has, how many is it?.... nine?

    Maybe Archie McPhee would give you some samples if you review their cat-related products on your blog....

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  14. Oh, and that last anonymous comment was from me, Gromit Mommy, who has big splotches of computer illiteracy.

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