Happy 3rd Anniversary to my Cat
December 20th, 2008 | Posted by Pauline
Three years ago today, our cat Buddy arrived at our house. Friends of our brought him in a carrier tied with a lot of rope. They opened up the carrier and he jumped out all golden and furry. My first thought was “He is a long hair - I don’t want a long hair” and then I realized that was almost a racist thought and this was the cat we were given, so what if he has long hair? It turns out that he sheds less than our old cats (who both died earlier in that year) who were short hair tabbies. There was so much rope because he is almost impossible to get into a cat carrier and was battling to get out.
Buddy the Cat
He was six years old when he arrived, making him nine years old now. He had belonged to our friend’s mother, who died the day that he arrived. Our friend arranged that we would take him, but her mother wanted her with him for company until the end, so we waited until the time came for him to be delivered to us.
We got our previous cats, Butch and Spike, as kittens when we moved to Santa Fe and had them for fourteen years. First Butch died (while we were traveling in England) then a few months later Spike wandered off into the night and never came back. They coyotes must have got him; we heard the howling loudly the night he disappeared. We had convinced ourselves that we would not get another cat because of our big “a year in England” plan and because of our travel schedule, so when my friend told us about Buddy we said “no” but then talked of nothing else for two days, then phoned her and said “yes”. The house felt empty without a cat.
Buddy was exhausted when he arrived and then stayed awake for two days watching us. Finally he slept. It took a good six months for him to settle in with us. But now he is ours and he is an exceptional cat. He looks all prissy and pretty, but he is all cat. He likes to hunt (thankfully not as much as Butch and Spike), he is fascinated by the new bird feeder and he guards the gopher holes in the yard. He won’t sit on our laps, but likes to cuddle up beside us. We got a new bed a few months ago (king size!!) and he has totally claimed it. These photos are from the last couple of months of Buddy in the bed.
All that fur!
Happy Anniversary Buddy! Our Italian friends who house sat for us last winter call him “Budino”. Happy Anniversary Budino!
December 21st, 2008 at 8:22 am
Budino, Tanti aguri, Dante & Guido
December 21st, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I love the second picture of buddy. He is a handsome guy.
December 22nd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Buddy is such a beauty - Happy Anniversary! Pauline, I just discovered your blog here and added it to my Google Reader list. I have been subscribed to your Cotswolder, but I see there is much more recent activity here. I’m looking forward to following the blog and the website as it develops. I really like the design and layout you’ve done here. Great job!
December 22nd, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Marta, I like that second photo too - his long hair looks like feathers!
Hi Krista! I try to do weekly blogs on Cotswolder but it is more like every two weeks (slow blogging!), but this is my main blog. We are working away on Slow Europe and hope to have it launched in a few weeks. We have put together lists of recommended vacation rental resources by country and region - like I started out with on SlowTrav years ago, but then it got much bigger. Back to basics - vacation rental basics!! :)
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm
What a gorgeous boy!
I can’t imagine not having a cat or two around.
December 27th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Hi, Buddy is beautiful, and so fluffy. Three years, they have gone so fast. Si seems to have no fur compared to Buddy and he loves to be cuddled but I think that he is only in it for the heat!! and that is probably why Buddy just likes to curl up beside you, he is too hot to get too close.