When Cats Come Calling

The release of the new Garfield movie this summer coincides with the ninth anniversary of the summer that the Stanford household became a "cat house" - and I, a lifelong "dog man," became a "cat man."

It all began in the summer of 1995 while I was working in the backyard, trimming shrubbery and, yes, listening to the O.J. Simpson trial.

My labors were interrupted by a small, peach-colored kitten, about six weeks old, who came strolling through the yard. She would probably have gone unnoticed had my wife, Sandra, not seen her from the kitchen window.
Daughter Lisa, who was 19 at the time, was alerted - and things have not been the same since.

There was nothing to do but keep the kitten.

Our house had been pet free since the death of Rufus, a Miniature Daschund who had been with us 17 years, a few years earlier. Pet-free, that is, except for a hamster and some fish and maybe a parakeet or two - but are those really pets?

I had been a "dog" man all my life. The first was Bozo. We had Bozo while we lived in Tifton in south Georgia. I still cherish an old black-and-white picture of me, my younger (and only) brother and our mother which was
taken with Bozo. The picture was made around 1950.

I spent most of my life not liking cats because, I think, of my brother's fondness for cats. Most of the time while Ed and I were growing up, anything he
liked, I didn't and vice versa.

He liked the Boston Red Sox, I liked the New York Yankees. He liked Georgia Tech,
I like Georgia. He liked Chevrolets, I liked Fords. He liked cats, and, well, I didn't.

So, little did I realize how my life was about to change when "peach kitty" wandered into the yard nine summers ago.

She was quickly smothered in love by Sandra and Lisa who began debating a name. They soon settled on Kacee. Not K.C. or Casey or Kasey, but Kacee. How they came to chose that one, I still am not sure. I don't recall ever being told. I'm still not even sure how Rufus became Rufus. I first suggested Kojak after the bald-headed TV police detective
played by Telly Savalas in the 1970s because, well, his head, at six weeks of age,
appeared almost bald.

Since Kacee's arrival, ours has become a permanent home to other cats.

Hannah, a black-and-white tuxedo, like Kacee, just walked into our lives one day. (Cats, I've noticed, have a way of doing that.) He (that's right he ) died an untimely death up the street one morning when he ran in front of a car. He was named Hannah before we knew that he was a he.

In addition to Kacee, who is still with us, we are now the parents (grandparents?) of Abby.

Lisa acquired Abby while attending Georgia Southern University in Statesboro and, a
couple or three years ago, left Abby with us "for a few weeks" while she moved to
Asheville, N.C. A few weeks turned into a few months and now, of course, a few years. Along the way Lisa acquired Jerry - a long-tailed, skinny, long-legged, big-eared gray-striped cat. So, Abby has become Kacee's
permanent sister.

Because of this overhwelming affection for cats, our house has become a cat "shrine" of sorts - a very subtle theme, though, which most guests probably don't even notice during just a casual visit. There's hardly a room in the place where you won't find cat picture frames, cat pictures, cat figurines, throw pillows with cats on them, etc. Here a cat, there a cat, everywhere a cat-cat. There's even a cat reminder in the utility room - the litter box.

I welcome the cats but I still like dogs.
Some people say cats are standoffish, aloof, too independent to be friends with you. That may be true of some, but not ours. Abby greets me most everyday when I come home from work, rubbing up against my legs and following me around the house for a few minutes.

And, cats are, compared to dogs I've known, quieter and easier to take care of. That makes it easier on the humans they've adopted. In fact, for the most part, they really take care of themselves.

Now, Kacee its your turn to change the litter box.

Ken Stanford is the longtime News Director at WDUN NEWS TALK 550, AM 1240
WGGA, and MAJIC 1029 and is Editor of accessnorthga.com.