Cat lovers anonymous
If loving cats is a crime, then lock me up and throw away the key because I am guilty. Wow, there’s a sentence you should never write on your internet dating profile.
But seriously, I love cats.
It’s irrational and it probably says a lot about my character, but I cannot help it. There’s something absolutely hilarious about those funny pictures of cats your work colleagues (me) send to you in emails. They absolutely crack me up.
I can be sitting at my desk working away quietly, then spontaneously burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter at the sight of a cat with a piece of cheese on its head or a watermelon helmet plastered across my screen.
Luckily for me I already have a man who has decided to spend the rest of his life with me and, in a fantastic turn of events, he finds cats even funnier than I do.
Otherwise, I fear my advert in the personals section of the newspaper may have read something like this: “Very white, blonde female with excessively large hands and bad eye sight seeks man with a love of all things cat, except ‘Cats’ the musical. I hate musicals. Must love cats though. Email me! catlover99@hotmail.com”.
Why are cats associated with craziness? When we think of a spinster living in a caravan are we picturing someone well-adjusted with a well-stocked fridge, modest hair-do and no pets? No! We are picturing cupboards full of tuna cans, an 80’s perm/electrocuted hair do and 2,000 un-neutered cats crammed into a 5 metre-squared caravan.
Unfortunately this stereotype tends to be right. At work one day, on a leisurely Tuesday afternoon, one of my good friends and colleagues ventured with me into the mail-room to post a rather large parcel.
We were greeted by a very short woman with very thick, round glasses looking up at us. She was wearing a white jumper emblazoned with a fluffy white kitten sporting a hot pink bow and glitter outline (the cat decal, not the lady).
Before I could drop the parcel, yell ‘express post overnight’ and run, she had grabbed both of us and dragged us into her cubicle.
Her desk was littered with an assortment of papers, but more startling was the incredible number of cat themed items she had on every surface.
There were ceramic cat statues on the shelves, numerous cat calendars hanging from the walls, cat mouse pads, cat pictures, cat plates, cat cups and cat stationary strewn across the desk. We both stood, open-mouthed and glued to the floor as she talked us through each item.
At what point does HR decide to intervene here? How far does this woman have to go before someone in the building realises that something isn’t quite right and not only do we have ourselves a Class A Fire Hazard but we’ve also got someone who’s not quite stable distributing our post and interacting with large volumes of people on a daily basis.
I have spoken to this lady on a number of occasions and honestly she is lovely. She doesn’t have a nasty bone in her body and isn’t a bad person at all. Her only crime is loving cats…. a little too much.
This whole thing probably boils down to ‘too much of anything is bad for you’. Hence the development of television shows like ‘hoarders’ or ‘my strange addiction’ that cover people’s obsessions and compulsions with certain things. Just for the record, it isn’t okay to keep every piece of paper you’ve ever seen or eat a roll of toilet paper each day.
Maybe it’s all about balance. I mean, it makes sense that if you’re having far too much of one thing that you may be lacking a little (or a lot) of balance in the other aspects of your life and, a severe imbalance, could lead you down the path of insanity.
So, if you’re spending all day munching on bog roll or are too afraid to leave your house in case one of your 2,000 cats goes missing then you’ve taken it too far.
Now let that be a lesson to all of you…. 20 cat emails is okay…. 2,000 live cats in your caravan is definitely not.
littlegreybox.
25 Comments on “Cat lovers anonymous”
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What is littlegreybox?
littlegreybox is a meeting point of humorous perspective, food and travel experiences and my life journey. It's my outlet, a source of inspiration and a way to share and connect with people around the world.
The stereotype is well and alive my friend! I have two cats and the only presents I get for birthdays and the like are coffee mugs with “crazy cat lady” plastered across the side and yes, even miniature cat statues that hold rings on their tail (from my mother, sigh). They think because I own a cat, my life should therefore be cat themed forever.
hahaha oh no, they’re type-casting you and you didn’t even want it. You need to break the cycle… and fast! But hey, I personally see nothing wrong with loving cats.
I also love cats! I live with vets and one of them told me it can actually be a disease that make people fall in love with cats (I think he said you get it from cat feces). I think the crazy cat thing comes from that disease. :) Great post by the way, I recently got a cat I love, my bf said he didn’t want one but he’s now crazy about the cat as well :D And how can he not be, cats are adorable and funny :)
Love this! Bonafide cat lover myself… with two fur kids “Tiger” and “India” (named by the shelter, not me)
=^..^=
Janet
I’m jealous! Sadly I’m not allowed to have any pets where I’m living… love your little keyboard cat drawing :)
What’s not to love about cats!!!???? I am a huge fan! Loved your post – brought a smile to my face!
Thanks for reading Anita :) let’s hear it for cats!
I just discovered your blog and I love it. You write about things I write about. Love the cat entry. Keep writing! – rita
http://gauchomarx.wordpress.com/
Hi Phoebe,
I also love cats; I always had one or two of them and I don’t want to miss this little cuddly friends anymore …
Cheers,
Sunelly Sims
from Germany
I love cats too. My husband hates them and is allergic… so there ends my cat story!
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I have been called the crazy cat lady more then once. The thing is, as much as I love cats, my husband is as bad if not worse! We are the proud owers (or they own us) and our latest furbaby is named Austin Meowers!
Hahahahahah. Great name for a cat! Can you post a photo of Austin?
Yes I will do that later today :) Maybe I will post pictures of Lily, Patch and Ace too.
http://fuzzylogichereicome.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/a-meow-massages-the-heart/ There is a picture of him here too :)
Oh my goodness… he’s just so fluffy!!! What is your policy on posting your cat to London to share with me? :)
HAHA Not sure he’d enjoy the trip.. but some days when he is “meowing” his little face off I just might take you up on that!
I just showed Matt the picture of Austin, he’s in love with him now too.
I Have posted a new one of him today. Spoiled little feline :)
OH goodness…* We are the proud Owners of four cats. I hate it when my thinking gets ahead of my fingers!
I am also very guilty! I am a giant cat lover – and have two amazingly weird cats. I get the “crazy cat lady” jokes ALL the time, though am very, very lucky to have found a man who loves my cats as much as I do. :)
Reblogged this on apennyformythought and commented:
and I am guilty as charged.
I love cats, too, but that lady has a lot of cats stuff. Our new admin has a ton of animal print stuff. It’s scaring me.
I used to not understand what the big deal was about cats until my uncle gave me a Birman. He is absolutely snooty but I love him to bits! And now only super duper cute dogs can move me I only have space in my heart for kittys!
I LOVE cats. And the funny thing is that before I met my husband he had always been a dog person. But I keep telling him he’s a cat person. He so is, its not funny. I love that piccie btw. Funny post – thanks!