The beauty of my babies

1.- peel for me!  2.- tie for me!  3.- pin this up for me!  4.- cut for me!  5.- grrrr tear it open for me!  6.- comb me!  7.- but there is one thing I never have to ask my mom to do for me..  8.- love me!

I'd thought about starting a blog for some time but hadn't had a real inspiration to do so until a few nights ago and the above "pic" was what did it for me.


As silly as it may sound, this cartoon made me think of my cats and how they communicate their needs, wants and love.  It actually almost bothers me when I see stories on the news or posts on Facebook where parents are praised for how they raise their children (or people say how wonderful it is to be a mom or dad) but no one thinks of those of us who were not able to have human children.  First, I don't call my cats my KIDS.  I find the word "kids" to be somewhat degrading and disrespectful, so I do my best to not use this word if at all possible.  My cats are my girls, my babies, my daughters, my angels, my world.  How is this different from actual "motherhood"?  Sure, they weren't born of my body, but I adopted them as so many other's adopt their children and that does not take away from their being parents.  But there I go allowing my mind to wander off subject, which you will find I do quite often!

My three girls are very different from one another.  Emmi Sue is my oldest.  She'll be 15 on March 11th, which will mark 14 years since I've had her in my life.  Jinger and Allie are 13½ and will be 14 on July 15th (I adopted them at 7½ weeks).  But just as children have distinct personalities, my cats do, too.  Emmi Sue is what I call more "needy" and very jealous, while Allie is more shy and skittish and Jinger is a little more happy-go-lucky in a "Phoebe Buffet" from the sitcom "Friends" sort of way.  While Emmi Sue and Allie understand the word "no" the first time I say it, it takes Jinger two, three, four, SEVEN times before she lets it seep into her head to stop whatever it is that she is doing, but then she stops.

my Emmi Sue, sunning herself in the bedroom window

Emmi Sue is the kitty I love to hold the most.  I pick her up and she throws her little body back and lays in my arms as if she is truly a little baby, reaches her tiny hands up to my face and caresses my cheeks.  She has been known to stay in my arms until my arms are hurting so I have to put her gently on the floor.  But many times, she'll cling to me to not let her go.  And every single night, as I'm trying to fall asleep, I hear this terrible, deep growling type of meow from down the hall.. and it's my Emmi Sue approaching the bedroom with a toy mouse in her mouth.  She loves to bring me "presents" and needs me to say THANK YOU or else she'll howl the entire night.  It sounds annoying, but I love her so much!

my little Allie, waking up on my pillow

Allie is the one I like to call my "secret angel" since no one has the chance to see what a wonderful little girl she is, except me.  She is gentle, loving, very sweet and trusts only one human being.. and I'm so lucky to say that is me.  Of my three girls, Allie has the prettiest little voice and the biggest eyes!  My nickname for her is my Allie Bug.  Recently, she has chosen to crawl under the covers, right below my pillows, a few moments before I go to bed, as if waiting for me.  When I gently pull the covers back, she gives me a soft meow and curls up next to me for a few minutes and it's a little piece of heaven to have her there.

simply my Jinger.. pic taken with  my phone

Jinger is basically beyond words.  When she was a baby, she drove me insane!  I didn't think I would ever be able to bond on an emotional level with her, but after my 2nd divorce, something in her.. or in me, or both.. changed.  All I have to do is look at her or begin to say her name and she is next to me a few seconds later.  A couple years ago, Jinger started doing something that means the world to me.  Once I am in bed and Allie is no longer under the covers, she comes to my pillow, headbutts me a little, purrs, and then nudges me to lift the covers up so she can crawl under and spoon with me all night.  The amazing part about this is that many times, I have terrible, violent, full-body spasms, but yet she stays with me, as do my other two girls.  They never leave the bed once they are settled in.  And I wake up each day to find my three little girls on the bed with me, just as they were when I closed my eyes the night before.

One of the wonders of my girls is that, although they obviously cannot use "words" to communicate with me, they have their own ways of telling me what I need to know.  About a month and a half ago, I went to my neurologist and told him that I was having much more pain that usual and my night spasms were getting worse.  I explained that my cats had behaved so much more concerned, clingy, nervous than I had ever seen them the day before, so I knew something had happened while I was sleeping.  I'm sure my neuro thought I was insane, but I didn't care.  My cats were telling me that I had been moaning, screaming, practically convulsing that night and I was not about to disregard their message.  You see, as much as I take care of and love my girls, they take care of and love me just as much.  We are a family.  Emmi Sue, Jinger, Allie and me.  And I wouldn't want it any other way.