In a weak moment, I posted on FB a week or two ago:
“I am not a cat person. I am thinking of getting a cat. Please, advise.”
Well, truth be told I am not really much an animal person of any kind.
Bailey, my youngest son’s half-Collie/half-Golden, lived out the latter of his fifteen years under my roof. My divorce decreed me all three animals – my children’s pets. Along with Bailey, there were two cats: Lucy and Katrina who preceded him to heaven.
And at each pet’s passing, I had to admit that I was a whole lot more attached to these fur-coated creatures than I imagined. Well, not nearly so much to the cats as to Bailey.
Bailey and I had this quiet comfortable roommate thing going on. And then he was gone.
It has been three years now. It is Bailey I miss. That particular golden-haired member of my household. Bailey who was afraid of soda cans and squeaky toys. Bailey who I used to drag around the block. Bailey, the dog who barely knew his name.
But with Bailey’s departure, I have discovered the particular pleasures of the single life.
After work, I now go wherever I please. No need to rush home. On rainy mornings, I stay dry in my pajamas. No need to get drenched outdoors. Wardrobe wise, I can wear black and no longer need to stash lint rollers all over the place. No vet bills. No boarding costs. I have both the freedom and the funds to travel as I please.
Yes, I still get a little misty eyed when I think about Bailey.
But I do not miss having a dog.
Well, mostly I do not miss having a dog.
Rebounding from the election, I briefly reconsidered. I was tempted by a little Bichon Frise pup named “Posh.” But someone else rescued him before I got there. The timing of which may have rescued us both from the canine equivalent of a one night stand.
My desire dissipated like vapor. Faded in the blink of an eye.
You see, I delight in the solitude of my sacred space. The freedom to walk through every room dressed as I please. Curled up on my couch, befriended by books and accompanied by thoughts delicious and dark. And visitors of the human kind, are welcomed from time to time.
I live on my own but that does mean that I am lonesome.
Living alone is not the same thing as being lonely.
Yet even the Queen in her Castle, craves companionship of the intimate kind from time to time.
On the human side of this equation, for the past year, I have posted my endeavors here at Sex & the Single Vicar. Blog worthy. Humorous, disastrous and less than successful.
Meanwhile, well-meaning people, keep encouraging me to get a companion of the four-footed kind.
“Get a cat. They are so easy!”
“A cat to keep you warm!”
So, a couple of weeks ago, I surfed the SPCA sites looking for a cat. Maybe a cat would better fit my “swinging singles” lifestyle. Ha!
Crowdsourcing feedback on Facebook, I posted:
“I am not a cat person. I am thinking of getting a cat. Please, advise.”
And friends I did not know were friends – or friends I did not even know I had – commented, reacted, liked, and commented on the comments.
There was no shortage of replies:
- Adopt a kitten.
- No, kittens tear up your house.
- Adopt a rescue cat.
- Adopt a two year-old cat, already housebroken.
- No adopt an old cat.
- No, they have urinary tract problems.
- Adopt a black cat because they get left behind.
- No, adopt a special needs cat.
- A deaf cat, a blind cat.
- A cat with FIV (poor thing).
- Better yet, get two cats. To keep each other company.
- (Uh, aren’t two cats twice as expensive as one?)
- Or adopt a Maine Coon cat, it’s almost like a dog.
- Or a British Short Hair, Alice in Wonderland’s Cheshire cat.
- Or maybe, just take my cat.
- No, for heavens’ sake just get a kitten.
- So cute.
- So cuddly.
Hmmmm, no I don’t think so.
That’s really not the kind of cuddling I had in mind.
Apologies to all my cat loving friends BUT — getting a cat, feels kind of like giving up.
And I am cautiously confident that it is way, way, way too soon to give up.
So, One Fish. Two Fish. I might get a gold fish.
Or I might borrow a dog to walk once in a while – so that I can flirt with guys at the park.
Or I might just ask my friends to fix me up with a stray brother or coworker or a reasonably handsome (and stable) male friend they might recommend.
Such creatures have to exist somewhere, right? Though rare they might be.
If you find one, please send him to me.
I am not ready to be a cat lady.
Yet.
Singularly Yours:
Rev:Joani
Sex & The Single Vicar 