Bathsheba's Mom for Food Lady of the Year

Okay. I admit it. Like Jake says, I am kind of grouchy. And I can be mean. I hiss, growl, and occasionally even bite. Dad has called me psycho-kitty on occasion. Or “luna[tic] kitty”. But, you know what? Mom LOVES me. Really. Other people might not be so understanding, but my mom loves me unconditionally. Why, for 15 years she’s put up with me now. She must be rewarded for this, but how? That’s why I nominate her as “Food Lady of the Year.”

My origins are rather humble. I was born under the porch of an old farmhouse that was still in use as suburbia grew up around it. Mom had lost her 6-year-old kitty Gus to stomach cancer just before I was born on August 12, 1991. She and Precious, her beautiful Maine Coon kitty, were very sad and didn’t want another kitty right away because Gus could not be replaced. One of the ladies at Mom’s office knew better. She thought that Mom needed another kitty, and the office lady always seemed to have an inside line to kittens needing homes. The farmhouse lady brought some of us kittens to the office to be viewed. Mom thought that she MIGHT consider a boy, but the only boy was spoken for. The whole litter of us had big feet with EXTRA TOES. Mom thought that was unusual. I was cute, but feisty. She couldn’t resist my cute kitten charms, so she adopted me in October when I was about eight weeks old. She named me Bathsheba after the beautiful main character in Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd, but she sometimes teasingly called me “Badsheba” because I did naughty things.

Life was pretty good. I got to venture outside and explore, but Mom always made sure I was safely inside before she had to go somewhere. I didn’t always make that easy on her because sometimes I refused to be caught. I loved Precious, who hated all other cats except for the ones she met and nurtured as kittens, like Gus, me, (and Jake).

Life changed in 1994 when Mom brought Jake into our happy home. Three’s a crowd, and I sulked. Later that summer Dad came into our life. He worked from home, so I got more freedom to go outside in the coming years. I stayed outside a lot. Two times I ran away in the summertime. I know that it really worried Mom since I was gone about two weeks each time. I feel bad now for Mom because I guess I didn’t understand back then just how much she loved me. She said that it nearly ripped her heart out, but she was joyous when I came home. I heard her calling me, sensed her awesome love, and KNEW I had to return to her.

My dear big sister Precious died in 1997 at age 19, and less than two months later, our wonderful Grandpa (Mom’s dad) died at age 67. Both Jake and I tried to comfort Mom as much as we could because she was very sad that year.

Now as I age, I’ve gotten much closer to Mom. I greet her at the front door when she comes home from work. That makes her SO HAPPY, which makes me feel important. She feeds me and keeps Jake away from me when I’m eating. She always gives me a taste of milk when she’s making hers and Dad’s dinner, and she remembers to give me a taste of butter or cheese if she’s using either of them. She always follows me upstairs after my dinner so she can give me water from my favorite bathroom sink. She tries not to cuddle me TOO much, since I’m not fond of it, but she always tells me how much she loves me and wants to hug me. She encourages me to sleep in bed with her at night until Dad comes to bed. Sometimes I’m reluctant to leave my kitchen chair where I’m napping, so she tries to pick me up. I get cranky and hiss at her sometimes, but then I try to tell her I’m sorry since I really do like to go to bed with her. She also helps me blog and make friends with cats in faraway places.

I fear I’m beginning to ramble, but it’s just so hard for me to describe what Mom means to me. I love her and I appreciate the fact that she doesn’t hold my bad temper against me. For her unconditional love for me, this cranky old lady cat, I believe that she should be named “Food Lady of the Year.”

~Bathsheba

Link to my blog: http://jakeandbathsheba.blogspot.com