The Legacy Cats

Part one of two, since we have eight cats. I used to hate cats, or rather living with other people's cats. But now I figure if you have one, you need to have at least three. Here I'll talk about the four cats remaining from when Pam moved in.


Mama-San is the Queen. All defer to Mama-San and try to attach themselves to her. Mama-San is a most benevolent dictator, a friend to all. She teaches the other cats to speak and that being touched by humans is desirable. She is the first to claim their is no food in her bowl, or maybe she just demands fresh, because after all she is the Queen. She is the first to jump up on the bed and the only creature in the house who has license to sleep on my side of the bed when I am in it. Mama-San likes the flat outside of the index finger rubbing along the side of her face and, very softly, under her chin.


Sammy is the daughter of Mama-San and will always be my favorite cat. I don't care what the other cats think about that. She knows, and that is enough. Not only is Sammy the first cat I genuinely loved, the first I actually thought of as mine, apparently she feels the same way about me and humans. She's not always looking askance, she's just drawn that way. She was very standoffish until she moved in here, but we quickly became total pals. I was always a sucker for loners. Sammy loves a steady stroke all the way down her back and up her tail.


Frankie is short, of course, for Frankenkitty. Pam nursed her back to health as a kitten from a badly infected eye. Wacky hijinks ensue as she compensates for her lack of depth perception. Probably because of her handicap, she has become the most adept, and daring, jumper. She was the only one who tried to claw through the glass to get at the birds feeding on the porch, but after many months she finally gave up, sparing us the constant skritch-skritch-skritch while we were trying to sleep. She is usually the first to greet us when we return from vacation. I used to think Frankie liked it rough, but then I learned she's just enthusiasticly trying to say exactly where she wants to be scratched in a seemingly random pattern.


CC, short for CC, is Frankie's sister. Which I guess explains why their's is the fiercest rivalry in the house, at least until Bella came along. CC is not standoffish at all but she is shy. She used to have this annoying habit of presenting herself for lovin' but staying just out of arms reach. She finally got over it, or maybe it's just that even greater fraidy cats have moved in since and now she just seems normal. Whatever passes for normal among cats, that is. Now CC comes close enough to enjoy a little open hand stroke down the back.