"People" you meet along the way...

I am allergic to cats. My eyes swell, my nose drips, I itch dreadfully for an endless three to four days whenever I meet a new one, and still I have been owned by a wide selection of them most of my life. Even here, in a complex where pets are not allowed, there are five who have designated me their person. They sleep on the chaise on the back patio or the chairs in the front patio. Of course the white one has chosen the black chairs for his hang out.

I had a great cat carrier once, a bag with a transparent panel on one end so the occupant could see out, and despite the airholes, it could double as a weekend holdall if needed.

Malkin was another cat who lived with me in NY. Grey and lean and very bright he hated the carrier and would howl in sweeping crescendos, sounding like a tortured child, whenever I had to take him to the vet. So much so that I would spring for a cab rather than struggle on the subway subjecting the world to his annoyance.

One day my usual car company had no one available so I walked up to the avenue to hail a yellow cab. After some minutes I rested the bag with Malkin down - amazing how weighty a fifteen pound cat can be! I spotted a cab in the distance - light on, so available. Up shot my hailing arm while the other hand shot down to grasp the bag...that wasn't there!

I looked around for someone running off with my cat only to see the bag itself, soft sided, rolling off along the sidewalk at top speed as Malkin found hamster in his family tree and played treadmill. Chasing a howling, animated, bag at rush hour in Brooklyn makes people look for candid camera and makes the chaser - me - pray for superb bladder control because trying to run while doubled up with laughter is a challenge in itself.

I'm not sure why all these memories of Malkin,Pye, Little Beep, Zeus, Chevar, Ming, Tiko,Tant Pis, Whiskey, Dusty and Mouse are popping up.Whiskey lived with me when I was a teenager and she had kittens, Eeny Meeny Miny Moe Ugly and Ginger. I found homes for all but Moe who stayed with me, a boneless drape of fur around my neck. He used to DEMAND food at dinner time and one day I was late home and my mother snapped at him "Get lost". He walked out of the house and never came back.

Cats! Gotta love 'em.