As of Wednesday, April 15th, I have been the sitter for two Culver City Cats: Haley and Murphy.
Haley is of the traditional skittish, hide under the bed cat mode; whereas Murphy is more like a fusion dog-cat, constantly in need of attention, and he makes a lot of weird noises with his mouth. At first I found Murphy’s gregariousness to be charming. I appreciated that he was so quick to accept petting from a newbie. Now he’s getting on my nerves with his constant meowing for affection… and proclivity to overeat and vomit. There’s also something going on with this cat and the kitchen of this apartment. Whenever I set foot in there he suddenly re-remembers I’m still in the apartment (“Wait, he’s here?”), and sprints directly over to me! Conversely, Haley’s hesitancy and nervousness around me was annoying at first (she also literally shit the bed on day 2), but our relationship has evolved into a warm, mutual respect, as I’ve grown to appreciate her steady disposition in the face of this Covid 19 induced alone time. She’s also opened up lately for belly rubs.
This has been a good, little challenge for me though. It’s literally been years since I’ve had any responsibility for anything living besides myself. It’s also been a good stress test for whether I’m actually a “cat person,” as I like to claim here and there. I’ve always liked and appreciated cats, on the average, more than dogs. As I was recently discussing with my friend; at the very least the “cat floor” is much higher than the “dog floor.” The dog floor means feces could be anywhere in the house; whereas the cat floor assumes most of the feces are contained in a single box. That’s big! Mainly, being in this enclosed environment with these Two Cats has pushed me to determine how I actually feel about cats in reality, versus just idealizing them as weird, majestic creatures that I’m around here and there.
The result is… I don’t think I really want one unless it’s a shared custody situation with a girlfriend. I know I definitely don’t want to be solely responsible for two. In the end, I like both of these cats, but unless if I was really a “cat person,” I wouldn’t find myself so frequently thinking… “What the fuck do you want this time?” Maybe I could go for just one indoor/outdoor kitty… a cat to kick it with sometimes, but who also has their own hobbies and interests outside of our relationship…much like my desired characteristics for a significant other. Damn, I’ve been in this apartment a while.
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