Checkers--My Wild and Wonderful Cat--And other things Cat

copyright Robert Michel 2004

Checkers Kittyman Little-ManCaptain-Chaos Wild-Man Kitty-It Catman Fatso-Catso Catly-man Kitterman Manzokitty Little-Big-Ears Paddy-paws Little-Two-EarsFurbaby Fuzzy-furball Wild-Weirdo Dumptruck-kitty Hey-Boy Hey-the-Kitty Mr.-Kitty Mr.-Man Kitty-boy Kitster-CatsterKitty-Kitty-No-I-don't-mean-you-Blaze

This is my cat, Checkers. He is my best friend of the four-legged type, and I'm his best friend, period. Here'ssome more about him:

Checkers is a cream-and-black ticked spotted tabby of a mixed variety. He has fine, smooth, short fur, and is very long and lythe. I think he has some oriental breed in him somewhere. He's very talkative, like a Siamese. He's the elegant, fine-boned type, but he's also pretty tough. He used to beat up on our former dog, an 80 pound collie! Checkers has yellow belly fur with swirling black spots on it that make it look like chocolate cheesecake. He also has a pure white chin, paws that are black underneath and brown-sugar-sparkly on top, and a funny little Roman nose. If you look in the top picture you'll see that he has a little milk-mustache!

Checkers has been a fun cat to be friends with for the five years I've had him. We've made up lots of fun games to play. One of our favorites is tag--it involves chasing each other around, upstairs and downstairs, and tagging each other. We even take turns tagging each other sometimes. We play hide-and-go-seek around corners and under blankets and furniture. When he's done playing he tells me by flopping down on the kitchen or laundry-room floor. When I want him to exercise a little harder we play kibble-toss up and down stairs. It's funny when you consider how many calories he'll burn for that little kibble! Other fun games are tossing toy mice around, dragging strings, or making my hand seem like a little mouse. Then I roll him around on his back and pin him to the floor while he purrs. Sometimes I do that when he doesn't want me to--risking a punitive hand attack--so I have to apologize profusely. Quiet things we do together are of course cuddling in a warm blanket or couch, looking at birds and bugs out the window ("Cat TV") or carrying him around the house with me. We also have conversations--he meows, I say "what", he meows, I say "what, kitty" etc. Or he'll make a little chirp, and I'll reply in kind and we'll chirp back and forth. He's a very smart cat. He knows to put his paws on the doorknob if he wants it opened. He also puts his paws on my knee in the morning when he wants to be picked up. He's a little too smart sometimes--he knows how to get out of most restraints, and he knows how to get our attention when he's bored--scratch the nearest piece of furniture. He'll also run across the table and give a wild look that says "I know you don't want me here so come and get me!" He's been doing better about scratching since we got the latest scratching post, but he's still an "up" cat--he's been conditioned that way from so much attention. Other things he knows include the sound of can openers at night: a rare occurence anymore but he still remembers; to come when I pat the side of my leg; and, apparently, that our new dog Zeus is much less of a pushover than Blaze was; he's been a bit more cautious. Isn't he cute!!!!

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