Wednesday, August 26, 2009

How much do we need cats?

There are two drawbacks to having four cats:
1) Litter boxes (enough said)
2) Shedding all over the house.

The cats all have different coats--Snuffy (shown above) is an American Longhair and sheds like a son-of-a-gun. He develops small mats in his fur and pulls them out with his teeth discarding them willy-nilly all over the carpet. It's truly amazing that he remains fully furred when he loses so much of his fur on a daily basis.

Tweedy is a tortie American Shorthair who sheds very little, but Sunny is a Norwegian Forest Cat with a dense double coat that develops big mats. We have to shave him several times a year because we can't even get a brush through his fur. The "prodigal" Gracie is a Ragdoll cat and she doesn't shed much, thankfully.

We dearly love our cats and happily share our home with them in spite of the drawbacks. I've never calculated what the cats cost per year and I guess I really don't need to know. Buying cat food and litter, plus occasional toys and vet bills is just part of the cost-of-living at our house.

The one thing I value most about the cats is this--they make me laugh. That is such a precious commodity you can never place a value on it. Add to that the snuggles and purrs and you have a winning combination of life enhancers.

"I love cats because I love my home and after a while they become its visible soul."
Jean Cocteau

"Time spent with cats in never wasted." May Sarton

"If purring could be encapsulated, it would be the most powerful antidepressant on the pharmaceutical market." Alexis Hope

2 comments:

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

I have four, too! All rescues.

It's funny, but my tiniest one, the runt, sheds by far the most, and his fur is very sneezifying! They are all brushed daily, but his undercoat just falls out like an endless drizzle of little white hairs. And he looks coal black! But underneath is that funny white "fuzz."

I use the silica gel in the litterpans and it is extremely good and lasting, no smell AT ALL.

Sparrow chic said...

I love cats, but the fur they wear hates me. I have dogs, a poodle and cocker, who shed little. My lab/dalmation makes up for both of them. I love my dogs, but do miss my cats !!