| When I divorced my ex, it was such a wonderful | | | | I'd left behind. The cats watched with interest as I |
| feeling to move into my own apartment, with my | | | | moved knicknacks to another room with a closed |
| two cats. Freedom was finally ours. Happily, I put the | | | | door. Same with the accent lamp and flower bouquet. |
| furniture where I wanted it to be, and my knicknacks | | | | My spare bedroom sure looks great; too bad the |
| up on shelves. They had previously been banished to | | | | door to it has to stay closed all the time. But, Beau is |
| the curio cabinet when my ex and I lived together, | | | | worth the trouble. He is a little rascal but the most |
| because he hated anything that didn't pertain to golf | | | | loving and sweet animal, who seeks me out for love, |
| or football. Now, my books, animal sculptures and | | | | acceptance and safety. His kittenhood had been |
| large collection of CD's could be where I could use | | | | treacherous - getting declawed then taken to the |
| them. Freedom felt good. My pets had a nice, new | | | | pound to be euthanized by their cruel owner. A nice |
| place to play in and a balcony to birdwatch. All was | | | | foster family rescued them, and now they have his |
| good. | | | | sister and I have Beau, forever. He smiles, sleeps |
| Generally, cats are well-behaved, with a urge to play | | | | near me at all times. Even if he loves clearing shelves, |
| now and then. My two adult male cats are couch | | | | desks and any other horizontal surface he can get his |
| potatoes, so nothing ever bothers them. Having such | | | | paws on, he does it all with innocence. If something |
| a big place, I decided to adopt one more furry family | | | | falls, he looks at me, as if to say, "Did I do that?" |
| member. My new cat came from an online rescue | | | | Two years have passed by now. I have learned |
| organization. Beau is a large, beautiful pure white male | | | | patience and happiness living with this lively ball of |
| with one blue eye and one green eye. As soon as he | | | | white fluff. From his spontaneous bursts of song in |
| was acclimated to his new surroundings, he decided | | | | the middle of the night, to meowing out the windows |
| to make a few changes to make his new home | | | | at the neighbors, Beau makes life around here more |
| more livable. Knicknacks on shelves? Be gone! Desk | | | | interesting for my other two cats and myself. Now |
| papers just hinder his coveted sleeping spot under | | | | that I've learned to co-exist with a curious kitty, now |
| the stained glass desk lamp, a.k.a. his suntanning bed. | | | | I know to "catproof" my surroundings. Sure, he does |
| They end up on the floor whenever he sees them | | | | a few funny antics here and there, like perching |
| there. Marbletop tables are for cats and not for silly | | | | himself somehow on the coffeemaker, on the range |
| things like accent lamps. When I got home from | | | | hood, and on the top of my stereo speakers, but |
| shopping, the small lamp was unharmed, but lying on | | | | he's at least cute about it. I run over and rescue him, |
| the floor. Bouquets of flowers are not just for | | | | and he just purrs. Somehow, I think this may be a |
| decoration, in Beau's mind. They make good salad, | | | | plot to get my attention, but it's all OK. At the end |
| whether or not they are actually real doesn't matter. | | | | of the day, he is sleeping between my feet as I go |
| Those plastic stems sure feel good between the | | | | to sleep. We are all one very happy, mostly furry, |
| fangs. Yikes! This mayhem had to be curbed. | | | | family. It pays to have patience and grow together |
| It was apparent that I had to do some re-arranging | | | | with an energetic cat, because they are never boring, |
| of my apartment. This time to please a foot-tall, 16 | | | | and make life a lot more fun in the end. |
| pound furry male instead of the 6-foot human one | | | | |