IF...cat...

*Click to see larger*

Can't believe I got this cat illustration out so fast, but it was such an easy prompt.  Lucky for me, I guess.  I usually agonize for days over what I will do.

I have had many cats in my life.  I grew up on a dairy farm and people regularly dropped cats and kittens off at our farm, since we obviously had milk and land and the cats would surely be taken care of...What kind of an idiot does that? 

The first cat that was actually mine, though, was Minet (pr. mee-nay, which means kitty in French).  I was about to be a sophomore in college and would live in my own apartment for the first time.  An apartment that allowed pets.  I answered an ad giving away free kittens.  I wanted an all-white cat and the ad promised there were some in this litter.  Minet sounds girly but was actually a 'he'. 

He was very, very sweet.  I would bathe and shampoo him once a week to keep him looking and smelling good.  He didn't seem to mind.  The most ironic thing was, he was lactose intolerant and would get really sick if fed milk or cheese.  The summer after that school year, I left him with my parents since I was going to New York to work on that political campaign, and all that milk around the dairy killed him. 

We've had cats since then...Chutney, Sundae, Biscuit...but none were as sweet or as close to my heart as Minet was...

Comments

[Majeak Ann]

Ooh, I like this kitty. Is a black cat(*~*)..lovely design and nice grass background.
-Marjorie Ann

[carla]

So pretty! I love those big eyes!

[Aravis]

So sad to hear of Minet's end, but he sounds wonderful. Beautiful illustration!

[Trisha]

What a precious illustration!! Cute!

[Tonya]

That's amazing -- a cat who is lactose intolerant! Who would think that would be possible! (And how sad!) I suppose keeping them away from dairy products would be like keeping them away from birds or mice -- they're just hard-wired to crave such things.

My first cat (as an adult on my own) was black and white and fluffy, and I still miss her. She was actually a "he", but oh well. SHE was a very sweet kitty.

[Laura]

Love that picture. My current kitty is the second kitty I've had but the first I've loved. They are so fascinating, aren't they?

[Toni]

Sweet illustration!
I lived on a farm for a bit and yes people dropped off cats all the time.

[Michelle]

What a lovely little black cat, very stylish.

[aeioubooks]

Beautifully designed.

[PainterWoman]

So sad that petit Minet didn't recognize the source of his gastric distresses. I thought cat's knew better... although anything that would eat crickets has got to make one wonder!
If you want to read a scary book about feral cats, read FERAL by B. Roueche. I remember it from many years ago: http://www(DOT)amazon(DOT)com/gp/product/038065508X/qid=1138006378/sr=1-11/ref=sr_1_11/002-2572634-4904829?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

[tinker]

Oh, your kitty illo and story are both so sweet! What a sweetheart your little Minet was to let you bathe him every week! We struggle to bathe ours during flea season - well, struggle is an understatement!
It appalls me how people can just drop off animals...it happens frequently at our day program because we're right next to the community garden - I guess people think they'll find food to eat/mice to catch there.
Grrr!

[Barbara W. Klaser]

That's darling, and reminds me of my late cat Merlin, aka Merly Perly, or Puddin' Face.

[Margaret]

I feel bad for pauvre Minet! Our cat Kendra is such a character; we are all very close to her prickly self.

[Anonymous]

cute!

[An orange]

Beautiful, I love this. Saved it to remember later :)

[Ratlion]

Like the cat in your illo...Nice!

[Laura]

Poor Minet. :( I love your drawing. I grew up on a farm also, though not a dairy farm. People used to dump cats in the countryside. I don't know if they thought the cats would "make do" out there or if they just wanted to make sure it was so far from home the cats never came back.

But we always had tons of cats; we fed them, tried to catch and spay/neuter, tried to tame them down and get them to the vet when they were sick. At times it was insane. I remember having 40+ cats that ate at the house and I could identify on sight, at one time. I remember calling "kitty, kitty" and getting 10+ cats in under 10 seconds. (And once, a skunk family. THEY had figured out that "kitty, kitty" meant extra treat food was being put out. I beat tracks back inside real quick that time....)

[I S A Y]

sweet story and illustration.'love her eyes

[lyn]

Sweet!

[Binsk]

Very cool.

[Ellen]

Nice illustration!!! Oh, Minet sounded like an awesome soulmate!

[kat]

oh, poor minet. :-(

my emma gets sick on milk too, so we keep it away from her. tuna, though...she's definitely not allergic to that! :-)