Mattie: A Tail of Two Kitties

...And Both of Them are Spoiled

We are coming up on two years with Mattie. I love him to bits. And, he makes me crazy. Read on to find out why.

GOOD kitty

Mattie is by far the sweetest kitty I've ever had. He loves to cuddle and snuggle. He will let people hold him any way they want. He is great with kids, even Connor and Fiona when they were little. He does not have a mean bone in his body; he has never growled, hissed, swiped, or scratched. He is sensitive to our feelings, smart as a whip, and faithful as a dog.


BAD kitty

For all of his good traits, he has some bad traits... He gets on meowing kicks that last 30 minutes to 1 hour. The meows are loud (liken them to nails on a chalkboard or whatever poison you choose) and seem to have no clear reason behind them. He always has food, water, a clean litter box, and access to the outside when the meowing jaunts occur. He'll even sit outside of an open window outside and keep meowing... And he is, frankly, messy. Since last September our guest room has been transformed into "Mattie's room." Yesterday I decided that I would move him to the upstairs bathroom. He has plenty of space and light.


So, I said he is messy. If you look at the photo above on the right, you'll see what I mean. When he gets mad, he becomes passive-aggressive cat and "eliminates" (err... that is, pees) on things. In the past it has been Mike's clothes, socks, and work bag. He is lucky to still be in our house. Recently, he has eliminated in our heretofore nice guest room. Now you are getting the picture for why he has been moved to the bathroom.

I spent a very long time cleaning the guest room last night. I laundered every piece of fabric (and threw away a comforter and shams that I deemed beyond saving) in the room, to the tune of 5 loads of laundry. The rug will be next -- I have to look for a good cleaner today. We are nearly ready for guests again.

But where will Mattie stay when we have guests? After all, they need to potty in the middle of the night and won't be amused by his high pitched meowing that starts around 3 am... He'll be relegated to the largest dog cage made. It is the one he lived in for a month last summer after he was hit by a car. Staying in it for a night or two won't kill him.

That's my story... I love the little guy, but he certainly is not perfect. I guess we all have our little issues :)

Have a happy day!