The story continues....
My plan to get another cat after "writing her into reality" was interrupted when a friend offered me the calico kitten that had been born recently on her farm. I was only half way through the story I was writing about Gabriel the Snowman turning into a little white dog so he could search for his best friend, Poetry the Calico Cat. It was too soon, but this kitten presented herself now so I felt I had to be open to this change in my plans. I would have to wait a few more weeks for the kitten to be weaned, though. I hadn't even seen it yet when I learned it had grown sick and died. But my heart was already engaged and the course had been set, so I went to Petfinder to see what they might have and this is who popped up on my screen....
When I brought her home I left her in the crate to see how she and Gabriel would react to each other. She'd been fostered in a home with dogs, so I knew she'd be OK with Gabriel, but I didn't know how Gabriel would react to her....
As it turns out he accepted her into his house without any qualms. If he got a little too rough, Poetry would just jump up onto the bed and tease him from there....
In the morning I bring my coffee back to bed with me, along with Gabriel, while I read devotionals and write in my journal. Poetry will usually join us for a while. Sometimes they have a wrestling match....
When Gabriel comes home from the Grooming Room Poetry has to check out the new smells to make sure it's him and not some other dog....
Poetry got ahold of the leash I use to take Gabriel for a walk. He tried to take it away from her. He wants to get going on his walk....
Most of the time they are on the "same side" like when watching this squirrel on the bird feeder....
...or when looking at the pictures in Susan Branch's "A Fine Romance"....
But sometimes Poetry just ignores Gabriel. Here Gabriel is upset by the robo-cat I impishly teased him with....
Poetry's white markings spread down from her face, around her neck, over her underside and down all four legs. When she walks away with her tail held high it looks as though she's wearing bloomers....
This is where Gabriel sleeps at night, but Poetry loves taking it over during the day for her catnap....
She tried out the piano once....
Later Poetry takes the upper hand and shows Gabriel he's not to interfere in her business....
At Christmas sitting by the fire is a favorite....
As is checking out the presents under the tree....
Maybe she was looking for the ones she helped wrap....
She loves the Snowman tree just as much as the Easter Egg tree....
Poetry loves her perch on the porch under the birdfeeder....
Or on the kitchen window ledge that overlooks the porch....
She wants to know why I'm down on the floor pointing the camera at her....
Even though she's almost 6 years old now she still likes to play....
And stick her paw in the printer where the paper is trying to exit....
She loves watching the birds in the feeder....
But is not eager to get too close to this one....
Poetry tolerates the squirrel in the birdfeeder, but Gabriel is quite upset about it....
But she won't tolerate the stray cat outside her window....
When the neighbor's chickens come for the birdseed the squirrel has knocked to the ground, Poetry is in the basement window below the feeder to watch....
She climbs the furniture to get up into the basement window then will go from window to window....
There are other windows upstairs she'll spend time gazing out....
Sometimes Gabriel will join her....
She likes to pose from time to time on top of my clock radio....
She hates going to the Vet and knows how to gain my sympathy....
Once home she's ready for a long nap....
Poetry is very vocal about her needs and is the first cat to let me cuddle her. If she'd come along before I'd gotten Gabriel, I probably wouldn't have gone in search of a dog. This is a wonderful example of how God works all things out for good. My life has been so much more enriched by these two little angels. I can't imagine not having both!
For the next installment of the adventures of Poetry & Gabriel go HERE to read "Poetry & Gabriel in Scotland."
How cute their antics. I can see you would be well entertained by these two pets. I love how Poetry sneaks naps in Gabriel's bed. Great story!
ReplyDeleteThank you. ♡ Gabriel thinks he's in charge of the household, but we know who really is!
ReplyDeleteI love their story. They are little soul mates to you and each other. How beautifully they pose together. I only have kitties but if I had a dog I'd like one like Gabriel.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I'm glad you stopped by and that you loved their story. I love sharing them! ☺
DeletePoetry and Gabriel are just adorable together, Cathy. I sometimes wish we had pets again. When our children were small we had a lovely collie shephard. We loved him dearly. Now that the children are grown we no longer have a pet. We travel quite a bit and frankly I'm at a loss for how we would handle that. I know there are pet sitters and kennels but not sure we want to go that route. Seeing your animals make me long for one. ♥
ReplyDeleteHaving a dog does curtail travel somewhat. We've been fortunate to get a housesitter to stay here--different friends of one of our sons who still lived at home and therefore appreciated having somewhere to stay (so it didn't cost us too much). Whenever we rent a house for the weekend or the week I always get a pet friendly place and take Gabriel with us. Cats are easy. I just have a neighbor teenager come over once a day.
DeleteGreat stories about both Gabriel and Poetry, Cathy. I love how they love each other - they really are brother and sister. That last photo Says It All. And it's little "people" for you to look after too, which must be nice after having your boys for all those years. We really encouraged my Mom to get a pet after my Dad died. At first she was hesitant because she did have a lot of activities. She was in weekly Bible study, took quilting & sewing classes, even temped sometimes. Not for the $$ as much as the chance to get out of the house and meet people [definitely the "Miss Congeniality" of our family]. She also looked forward to traveling and visiting family since she hadn't been able to while my Dad was sick. And she didn't want to be unfair to any pets - to leave them alone all day or to be farmed out to a kennel or one of our houses back and forth. ANYWAY, we finally talked her into it when this little maybe-six-month old cat showed up at Mom's back door one cold March morning. Cutest little thing - a gray tabby with green eyes. Very pretty. We THINK she had spent the winter in a barn across the street from my parents' home. The vet thought she was born the previous September. One of my brothers had just moved back home after working in PA for a few years & was staying at Mom's while he was apartment-hunting and he had a black Angora cat "Clawdia." Isn't that cute? And he really started in on Mom. "C'mon Mom, you should adopt her... she's so cute... she'd be such a nice companion... cats are so easy... they don't need housetraining and all that... you can go away for a few days... look at her, the poor skinny little thing..." You get the idea. So Mom starts thinking on it. She calls me at work that day to tell me and of course, I immediately jump into the same patter as my brother. Etc etc. And so that's how "Tess" came to live at my Mom's. When Mom died the following October, my youngest sister took Tess and she's still there with her Golden Retriever brother Cooper. Although Gabriel and Poetry get along MUCH better. Cooper would love to be buddies with Tess, but poor Tess is now a very old kitty who didn't get used to dogs when she was young, and she doesn;t bother with Cooper very much. Anyways thanks for the great stories. I love to hear pet stories - and the videos make them even better! Have a great weekend. :>)
ReplyDeleteJanet, I love your pet story, too! "Clawdia"....so cute! Your mother's death must have been a shock for your family. She was so active. Was it very long after your father's death? Until someone loses both parents (mine have been gone for 35 (Dad) and 19 (mother) years, it's hard to know what that feels like. Even though you may have been on your own for years, you still feel as though an orphan.
Delete