My cat Casey Jones (so named by youngest daughter for the Grateful Dead song) will turn fifteen in November. I'm aware that's pretty old for a cat--the equivalent of 75 in human years. She's still in good health though, and I hope to have her around for several more years. She had a difficult beginning. Her mother was a stray who took up residence under a house during that bitterly cold November. Casey was the only survivor. She came to us as a Christmas gift from my sister. She's a precious cat--gentle in nature, not overly demanding except when she's hungry, quiet for the most part,which leads me to the story behind this post.
Casey received a gift from Santa the second Christmas she was with us--a Weasel Ball that Santa was sure she would love to frolic with. She didn't. She was afraid of the ball. But she did take to the weasel--steadfastly. Toy mice and small plastic balls with bells have come and gone without a backward glance. But the weasel has been her favorite nighttime companion for fourteen years.
Every night when the house gets quiet, she gets her weasel buddy in her mouth and starts roaming the house, making a loud reowr deep in her throat. It's a creepy sound ... and an odd sound coming from such a normally quiet kitty. But it's an every night occurrence that we've grown used to. It doesn't last long--maybe three to five minutes as she moves through the house. If she starts out upstairs, she goes down. If she starts out downstairs, she goes up. After a few minutes, she drops the weasel and he's forgotten until the next night when it's time for another foray.
We recently bought a small vacation home in Florida, and I've tried stocking it with items that i might not remember to bring with me. Casey travels with us most of the time, so I bought her a Florida weasel. She ignores it--hasn't picked it up once for a nightly sojourn through the new territory. Like my daughter's favorite PoohBear, the old weasel is the one that's preferred. No matter that he's fourteen and quite ugly to the rest of the world. He's Casey's best friend--and tjust to be loved like that makes him extra special.
Does your pet (or your child, or maybe you when you were a child) have a special buddy that is preferred over all the others? We'd love for you to share!
17 comments:
That's the cutest story ever. I love that she loves her old weasel best and that she has a nighttime prowl each evening.
We have a cat and my hubbie and boys profess not to like her. So she's my cat - a tortie/tiger - and she's so pretty. She was a feral kitten and she's still sometimes unfriendly. Small kids freak her out and most dogs, though she likes my lab. Funny, but she hates our Boston Terrier and often comes at him from around corners. He's nervous every time she creeps past. Cats are such fascinating creatures, huh?
Fascinating, indeed, Liz! I'm Casey's preferred person. The kids are all grown and out of the house now, and she ignores my husband as adamantly as she does the Florida weasel--unless I'm not home and he's the food provider;-)
My oldest son had a "Pat the Bunny" stuffed toy. He called her "Bunny" and she went everywhere with him. One time, when she was "lost" at preshool, the director drove to our house after her son confessed to hiding Bunny.
She is so threadbare, I had to sew a dress for her. When I was pregnant with my youngest, he had to get a smaller bunny for the baby, but his brother wasn't as interested. He liked all stuffed animals and never bonded with just one. Kind of makes me wonder about their future romances. I have a feeling my oldest will fall hard for one woman and that will be it. My youngest already has a harem. He's nine.
I suppose when my oldest introduces a girl to his bunny I'd better start saving up for the wedding. I knew I was going to marry his dad when I met "Charlie" the stuffed panda his aunt made him.
Love this, Kristina! And I love your theory about your boys' future romances! LOL! Check back with me in about fifteen years and let me know how it's going:-)
What an adorable story, Pam! I can just picture Casey Jones carrying that gnarly weasel through the house. So cute.
A couple of my six adopted cats have 'best friends', too. One of them, Nikki, loves a stuffed deer (at least I think it's a deer) that's about five inches long and three inches high. When Nikki was smaller than that little stuffed toy, he'd grab it in his mouth and carry it around the house, tripping over it since it would drag between his front paws as he walked. Even now that he's turned into the biggest kitty in our house, he still has a soft spot for that toy. He'll carry it to his bed, to the water bowl, to the top or bottom of the stairs. He'll flip it into the air, knock it around and 'catch' it, then he'll groom it until it's full of diligently applied cat slobber. I will never get rid of that toy and will probably never wash it...though it's no doubt germy enough by now that to touch it would require hazmat gear. :-)
~Debbie
LOL, Debora! I can picture Nikki dragging that deer between his little legs--so precious! I'll never get rid of the weasel and would never think of washing it. Maybe if I took it to FL and rubbed it on the new weasel enough of the slobber would rub off to make the new one acceptable:-)
(((hugs))) for stopping by!
Pam, I thought my cat was the only one! Harlie has a palm-sized stuffed fish, with its mouth open, and little felt teeth.
We named it 'Moby Dick' and she carries it everywhere - I've found it outside, and in the laundry more times than I can count!
They're weird, but we love them! Thanks for sharing.
Although we have had 7 cats we have not had a special toy.
My brother did have a special stuffed dog that he carried everywhere with him. my uncle who was a bachelor thought it was very dirty and bought him a different stuffed dog. After that my brother stopped hauling a stuffed toy around with him but he still slept with it.
Numerous nieces and nephews have had blankets they have hauled around. My sister finally got smart and bought a couple more of the blankets when she saw which one her kids were boning with. Even though she did that one of her five kids ended up with the remnants of three blankets stitched together.
Laura,
Moby Dick--how funny! None of my other cats have ever had a "pet," so this has been a new experience for us. Seeing her roam around with the thing is a hoot. I can just picture your kitty with his pet fish:-) I wonder if it's a female thing? Maybe they're mothering it?
Wonderful story about your cat, Pamela! So sweet.
When my daughter was four, her grandmother made a life-size doll of her with long dark brown hair just like hers. Her grandmother was an artist, so she painted on a pretty face. She sewed a dress and shoes for it, too. My daughter played with her 'twin' for ages, day after day. It gave me a real fright a couple of times, though, when my daughter was supposed to be out of the house with her father and I was supposedly alone in the house and walked through the living room and there was my daughter sitting in the armchair. I did a double-take before I realized it was the doll!
Kaelee,
You bring back such sweet memories. My niece had a blanket that she carried everywhere. My sister kept cutting it into smaller pieces until it would fit into the palm of her hand. It went to kindergarten in her backpack for a few days, and then she finally gave it up.
My daughter rubbed the silky tag on her PoohBear until it ended up being only a couple of strings.
Those buddies were extra special:-)
Mary,
What a treasure! Seeing your daughter sitting there would be a bit freaky, though. LOL! But how sweet to have a constant reminder of her at that age. Lucky girl to have such a talented grandmother.
Never had a cat (and we've always had cats)bond with a toy like that. We did have a dog though that treated a toy 6 inch toy football as her baby. She'd carry that thing around with her and would take it into her house to sleep with at night :) If you hid if from her she's go frantic trying to find it.
Awww, poor baby! I'm sure you never hid it from her though, right? :-) I've had to look for the weasel sometimes, too. He gets hidden by the grandboys. Then Casey jumps in bed and wakes me up whining. I usually try to make sure he's lying out before I go to bed.
When i was 13 years, i have not pet (cause my mom not let me, i have my own secret cat, name FATS. He's so wild, i keep him from he was 6month.. a grey cats.. but now.. i dont know where he is.. it is so sad ..and my boy wants a cat now.
Hi Pamela,
I don't have pet, but when i was child, i love playing barbie and even talk with her, change her cloth, comb her hair and i can play with her everyaday :)
My dog has several that she loves, but by far her favorite is a toy we named Koala ball. It's a very round ball-like stuffed Koala toy, and she grabs it first. It's especially sweet that she will sometimes bring him in to us at the breakfast table because she's sure we want to play with him or will take him outside with her when she needs to go potty. If she should forget him on the trip back in, she's sure to rush right out to him the next time she's outside.
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