Keeper of the Night Stand

Meet Ted. You can call him Ted, Teddy, Theodore, Cat, or a few other choice names that I will keep to myself. He likes to perch himself on my night stand and one night Megan and I got tickled at him and nicknamed him Keeper of the Night Stand. He reminds me of the lion statues you see on either side of a driveway or something like that. Ted is the first cat that I've ever had. I've always been a dog person. My family have always been dog people. So there was a bit of a learning curve for me when I brought Ted home to live with us for Megan's birthday surprise. There are a few differences between cats and dogs that I've encountered.

1) When cats wag their tails, that doesn't mean they're happy. It's usually more of a warning. Example: Cat says as he swishes his tail, "I'm not a dog so stop rubbing my head that hard or I will tap into my ancient lion instincts and kick your —."

2) Dogs crave attention. Cats demand attention. Ted is a very affectionate cat, but usually when it's most convenient for him. The best example occurs in the morning time. The cat has associated the sound of our alarms in the morning with the fact that he is going to be fed soon. So in an attempt to speed up the process, he tries to wake us up by rubbing his head into our faces, this happens to be a form of affection for them, but at 7:00 o'clock in the morning it's just plain annoying.

3) I believe the saying "Cats Rule and Dogs Drool" is completely false. Whoever coined that phrase is/was an idiot. Cats may rule, but they drool far more than dogs. And to make matters worse, they prefer to rub the slobber on you, on your leg, hands, face, or anywhere that is in a neck's reach. I understand they are marking their territory and showing affection all at the same time. But cut me some slack, and don't rub your drool on my nose, it's gross and it stinks.

However, over the past five months or so I've grown very attached to this cat. I think most any pet brings joy to a family and Ted definitely brightens up our lives. I could fill a blog just about the crazy things this cat does on a day-to-day basis. He's chilled with me even as I've written this blog. I never thought I'd feel this way, but he definitely makes me a cat-person.