Monday, March 03, 2008

Siblings

My Beelzebub is a proper witch's black cat. Wide-eyed and lithe, she is my familiar straight from central casting. And she adores her mother: she is a one-woman cat. Strangers come to the door and she hides until they have gone. I come to the door and she purrs. She wakes me in the morning by putting her face close to mine and 'singing' - for all the world as if she is humming and purring at the same time. This morning, I glimpsed her shadow behind the curtain in the spare room as I left for work. "Goodbye," I said, "I'll see you tonight." She came out, yowling her response. She is a very vocal cat.

She refuses to be put in a cat carrier. When we moved house for the first time, I tried to put her into a large cardboard box. She repeatedly punched her way out. Then I nearly lost her up the chimney. Eventually, I was able to get her into a hessian sack and carry her on my knee in the car, talking to her all the time. On arrival at her new abode, she hid for a day and would only eat Yeo Valley yoghurt.

The contrast with her black and white brother Wombat is immense. They have had the same life experiences but they are very different characters. Whereas she is finely-built, he is a chunky man in the Bagpuss mould. Where she is shy, he is confident and gregarious. Where she is vocal, he meows rarely and has a deep, low, reassuring purr.

They both sleep on my bed at night; B at my feet and Wom curled in beside me. I used to wonder how it was possible to have more than one pet and not have a favourite. Now I know: they are very different but I adore them equally.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting that you refer to the cat as 'singing'.

In Welsh, a cat who is purring is said to be 'yn canu'r grwndi' or 'singing the grundy'

Brom said...

My auntie had a lot of semi-tame cats on her farm. Some came into the house, if they thought it was safe. One day I went into the lounge and the only other occupant, one of the said cat's, flew up the chimney!

Oh how I laughed! - well OK I was 7 at the time.

Brom said...

apologies for the rogue apostrophe - I'll do better next time miss!

Whispering Walls said...

They look very sweet

Gill said...

oh- I miss my poor old anonymous RIP

Expat mum said...

Same with kids. Never thought about putting them in a hessian sack when I can't get them in the car, although I suspect the authorities might not take too kindly to it.

Mopsa said...

I read in some mag this week that other peoples pets were a downside to going to lush dinner parties. Was the man mad? There's nothing like being welcomed by a cat or dog to make you feel at home. Love me, love my dogs, I say. I'll feed you well if you treat 'em with fondness.

rilly super said...

M&M, how much do you charge for one of your cats to cross someone's path, say while they are doing their lottery numbers?

Nunhead Mum of One said...

I feel the same about my three hounds......I love them all very much and all the same but they've got their own characteristics that make them special to me. It's when they try to all get on the bed at the same time that the problems start.....

Mutterings and Meanderings said...

Anon, there is no other way to describe it!

Oh Brom, I hope it came down again... now watch what you're doing wif em punt-tation thingies ..

WW, they can be...

Gill, you need to get another one


Expat Mum, it works a treat ...

Mopsa, with you all the way on the ...

Rilly, a percentage of the winnings will do just fine...

NMO, cats fortunately are much lighter...

Pig in the Kitchen said...

Now two things spring to mind. First, you are surrounded by animals that wag the dog (that's you, but in the nicest sense of the word; take 'dog' to mean 'could be mistaken for a supermodel with incisive wit and sharp brain), and also, that your animal experiences are very like my children experiences; you seem to observe the same things. Ie: the same life experiences produce very different children, how could I love more than one child? etc etc.
And that is my third glass of red wine, incisive comment.
Pigx

Karen said...

Hello M&M - as you may have noticed from facebook I am now online at home so please check out my curiosity corner from time to time. Anyone else is welcome to of course!

Vince and I let Marwood sleep on the bed at night. Sometimes he settles into the hollow between us, sometimes he sleeps by our feet and occasionally he'll sleep along the thigh of someone sleeping on their side. He's also a very vocal cat and if he doesn't wake us up by singing (anonymous I love the Welsh for that!) then he does it by attacking our feet.