catsitting

I've been catsitting A's cat, Hermione, for the past week. [I don't think animals are entitled to identity protection.]

It's been great; I'm learning why people like cats. She is always waiting at the door,happily & hungrily meowing, when I let myself into A's apartment, like I matter or something. She's fun to play with & affectionate. She can stalk a feather on a stick for hours. She races around the apartment, very entertaining. She curls up in my lap when I'm reading. She has personality.

My 'rents cats, the cats I am most familiar with, are not like that. Jasper and Maya are just beings that coexist in my parents house. They don't like to play. They don't like to be touched. Sometimes, occasionally, they will let you sit beside them and pet them. Any attempt to pick them up turns into hissing and scrambling. They just sit around the house, eating, scratching up the furniture, & leaving hair everywhere. So I never understood why people want to own these beasts.

It's good to finally figure out where those cat lovers are coming from. I'm not about to hit up the Humane Society or anyting - cleaning a litterbox is very unfun. Cats, like children, are something that is fun to play with for a while. It's nice to be able to give them back to their owner at the end of the day (or week in Hermione's case).