Cat ladies (and gentlemen), unite! Let us unite with dog owners and people who love their pets. Well, perhaps not with reptile owners. Scaly cold-blooded creatures as pets are appealing only to some of us.
These thoughts are triggered, of course, by the remarks of the Republican vice-presidential candidate, J.D. Vance. A couple of years ago, Vance stated in a television interview that Democratic, childless women “are miserable.”
While I am not childless, I am an empty nester who lives alone with a cat. My cat is my constant companion. Even at 13 ½ years old, she races down the stairs to greet me whenever I come from away from home, whether it be for a couple of hours or for many days. She provides me with love and cuddles and asks for little in return.
Cats and books go together. Cats are known for hanging out in independent bookstores. Once they were more common in libraries as well, although city regulations make that less likely today. We have to respect all of the patrons, including those with allergies.
Not surprisingly, many of my librarian friends are cat ladies (and cat gentlemen). A friend and former colleague used the e-mail tagline, “Librarian by day, Catwoman by night.” When a long-haired white chihuahua came into her life, the tagline changed to “Librarian by day, Catwoman by night (gone to the dogs),” although cats continued to be a big part of her and her husband’s lives as foster parents.
My first pet companion as an adult was a cat. A fellow library school student announced in class that she had a litter of kittens, and was offering them free for adoption. Interested, I went to visit the kitties, in a house in the South Bay that seemed to be full of orange tabbies of all ages. I immediately fell for the adorable kittens, and took one home with me in a cardboard box.
My husband was a little slower to be enchanted by this charmer, although that changed over the years. We named him Farley, after Farley Mowat, the popular best-selling author of Never Cry Wolf, later made into a film, among other titles.
Farley was the first of five cats and one dog that kept us company over the years. He also was my first “baby,” and I worried about how he would react to the real thing. I limited the time and supervised any interaction between him and our infant daughter, who regardless grew up to love cats.
Our second daughter, as a toddler, picked up Farley one day and carried him to another room, delighted with herself. He was like a rag doll, hanging in the air docilely in her little arms. So much for any concerns I might have had. Farley was clearly happy to be loved by our little ones.
Once there were both feral cats and indoor/outdoor cats in my neighborhood in San Francisco, but the population has greatly lessened due to the influx of coyotes into the city. Today, I rarely find cats wandering the streets. The pet cats that do survive are often wary and shy, with some exceptions.
Dog ownership, on the other hand, is booming, and it is fun to get to know both the dogs and the dog walkers in the neighborhood.
Some studies show that pet companionship makes us healthier, and perhaps even extends our lives. Other studies, however, are more skeptical of this claim.
I loved every single one of those five cats. If they did not extend my life, they for sure made me happier. I also love my freedom. We cat ladies (and gentlemen) and all others who believe in our Constitution and freedom must continue to unite and fight against misogyny, ignorance, and division.
