Cats vs. Dogs

Here's an age-old question that'll no doubt result in some debate: Are you a cat person or a dog person?

Whether you believe me or not, I am a cat person. Does this mean I don't like dogs? Of course not! I have two terrible terriers -- Augusta the Kerry Blue and Arlo the Airedale -- and despite their incessant barking, dirty feet, and rambunctious behavior, I love both of them very much. In fact, the love I feel for them is equal to the love I feel for my cats... but I am definitely a cat person.

I have four cats, though most people have only ever met Harvey. He's the sociable kitten, after all, and the only feline in the household who tolerates Augusta chewing on him. Therefore, when people are over and the dogs are inside, if a guest is going to experience a cat sighting, the cat that guest will be sighting is Harvey.

The fellow I'd like to talk about today, however, is Kip.

Kipper's full name is Christopher Charles and he is four years old. I adopted him at a time in my life when I absolutely NEEDED a kitten.

Wanting a kitten and NEEDING a kitten are two different things. The wanting stage lasted for quite a while, but the needing phase occurred when I spotted a kitten under my neighbor's shed and ran outside to save it... only to realize that the "kitten" was actually a squirrel.

One might be shocked to learn that I didn't rush to the local SPCA and adopt a precious wonder later that very day. What I did instead was begin monitoring the shelter's website and filling out applications and waiting for the purrfect kitten to present himself to me. I wanted a longhaired cat... and I wanted a male... and (ideally) I wanted him to be grey or orange.

I ended up with Kip, who is part Maine Coon* and part Norwegian Forest Cat. (I know this because my mom gave me a cat DNA test for Christmas one year.)

Here is a list of things about Kip that bring me joy:

1. He has the quietest, softest, most beautiful voice. He rarely uses this little voice of his, but when he does, it makes me so happy!

2. His tail is magnificent! It's long and feathery and soft.

3. He enjoys sleeping in the bathroom sink. Sometimes I find him curled up there, sound asleep.

4. His tongue is defective. Kip makes a total mess when he drinks! Rather than slurp the water into his mouth, he somehow splatters it everywhere.

5. He finds pleasure in silly things. For instance, he just scampered back and forth across the kitchen floor as he chased a piece of stuffing from one of the dogs' toys.

6. He loves tomatoes as much as I do! At night, Kip hops onto the kitchen counter and sneaks grape tomatoes from their container. In the morning, I find partially chewed tomatoes and seeds on the tile floors.

7. He drools when he's really happy, and even though it's not my favorite to have him drip drool onto my chin and clothes, I do find the behavior endearing.

8. He helps me type! Just a little while ago, he walked across my keyboard and tried to title this blog "ikijk." I vetoed the suggestion, obviously, but did want to credit his attempt in my post.

There's one thing about Kip that is not my favorite, and that's his love of pooping in the bathtub. If he has to vomit, he'll do it in the litter box, but if he has to poop, he prefers the bathtub. This isn't the worst thing ever, seeing as the tub is right there beside the toilet and Clorox wipes are an incredibly handy cleaning product, but I would admittedly prefer him to do all of his business in the litter box.

Alright. That's my blog for the day. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll someday get to meet the furry-footed bathtub pooper, but until then, you'll have to settle for this silly writeup and Kip's adorable photographs!

*Speaking of Maine... I'm still looking for some readers up north!