Like a mother, a cat owner shouldn’t have a favorite, right? But Little Bit might be my favorite.  Like the other two she is a rescue cat. She was live trapped along with her
mother and siblings in a state park when she was about 12 weeks old. I already had two, but a friend who volunteered at a local rescue shelter asked if I could foster her for a few weeks. She was so extremely skittish that she wasn’t eating at the shelter. So I took her, and never gave her back. I named her Masuku, which is Japanese for “mask”, but she was so small at that time that I ended up calling her my Little Bit of Nothing.

She’s not a little bit anymore. At her last vet check up she weighs a very respectable 10 pounds. She is still very skittish. Some of my friends have never seen her. While I was away for the Annual Author & Reader Get Together, the friend who works at the shelter came over every day to play with the kitties and feed and water them, and she texted me asking if I was sure I had three cats. She only saw two.
Like most cats, Little Bit will sleep anywhere. But she is particularly fond of snoozing in places I’d rather she not, like the middle of the Christmas Village.  She is so adorable, though, that I can’t quite get angry at her.

I have decided that Rose Turner will have a cat. Some neighbor’s barn cat will have kittens and Rose will fall in love with the cute little runt of the litter. She’ll cajole Taye into letting her keep it. The adorable little kitten will grow into a huge cat who loves only her, and hates any man who comes too close to “his human.” He’ll especially detest Sky, who will be sporting angry scratches on his hands and face to mark his every attempt to seduce his mate. I imagine the other wolves will enjoy ragging on him about it.

It’s a sunny Sunday morning here in Fargo, ND. It’s been hot all week, and it will continue to be hot this week. I personally detest temps in the upper 80s and lower 90s (that would be 31-35 C) and that’s what we’re getting. The average high temperature for Fargo in July is about 83. Really don’t like it to be warmer than 70, myself.

My cat Merry, however, loves laying in the one patch of sunlight that sneaks through the blinds. She just plain loves warmth. Unnatural creature. When I take the laundry from the basket to put away, she dances with impatience for the moment she can jump in and curl up in the still-warm basket. She’d prefer to jump in while the clothes are still in the basket, but thank God I broke her of that habit. (at least, she doesn’t do it while I’m watching her. If I turned my back, I bet she’d be snuggled up with the sheets and towels quick as a wink)
She is also fascinated by boxes and bags. What is it with cats and empty recepticles? Seriously, in my place, any empty box will have at least one cat in it.

As you can see, she has lots of long, fluffy white fur, which is as soft as bunny fur. It sticks to everything. I take it with me, apparently, because my chair at work is liberally coated with white hairs about 2 inches long. I get so depressed when I’m sitting down in my chair after a couple hours of thorough cleaning and see white hair dancing in the beam of sunlight. That’s another reason I hate sunny days! Although she drives me slightly crazy, I love her. She is very sweet natured, doesn’t have any bad habits, and always uses the box. Really, what more can you ask from a cat?

Do you have a cat? What little quirks do they have?