Alice’s note: This story first appeared in my blog The Bright Lights of Muleshoe on May 4, 2011. This cat showed up at our house in 2007 and was estimated to be about a year old. So she turned fourteen, maybe fifteen this year, getting on up there for a cat. And at her advanced age, she has developed some kidney problems. She is now on medication, a special diet and doing well. And after all these years, she is still the Velcro Cat. Read to see what that’s all about.  

The date was January 7, 2007. We had not had a stray cat or dog show up for a while.  So apparently Fate saw fit to send one our way. Out of nowhere appears this young gray female cat, very vocal, and most happy to see us. Bill did his usual protest-we already have enough cats, he grumbled under his breath, firmly pointing her in the direction out of our yard, but to no avail. Since our house must have a sign invisible to human eyes that says to cats, SAFE HOUSE, this little cat decided to hang around. When she was still here the next morning, Bill had already seen the handwriting in the dust on the dresser and said to get her to the vet for her operation before she presented us with a litter of kittens. Definitely a cat population explosion we could do without. 

Now she needed a name, and as far as Bill was concerned, that was a done deal: Minnie Too, because, yep, you knew it was coming, we have too many cats!  

Most cats will jump down and out of a lap when they feel the person about to get up. Not this cat. She slips into laps and quietly sinks down for what she hopes is a nice nap, and then somehow makes her 12 pounds feel like 24 and digs in with her claws in a frantic effort not to lose her warm spot when the lap she chose disappears. She clings, yes, just like Velcro.  

 
She hasn’t made it into Bill’s lap just yet, but I assure you she will try and then do her Velcro thing. 

But she earns her keep. We find little mouse bodies by the front door all the time. And occasionally she manages to land a gopher and leaves it for us, too. She has many chances to do this because she is one of our outdoor cats. She has a nice cozy bed in the garage on top of the freezer, complete with a heat lamp in the wintertime, and a dry food dispenser right there handy. Every time she comes in the house I have something to clean up in the pantry, as she seems to think she needs to be on one of the shelves and always sends something crashing down to the floor when she tries to land. Needless to say, she doesn’t get to come in much. We spend our quality time with her outside. 

So even though we did then, and still do now, have too many cats, we had just enough room for her.  

And she knew we did. That’s why she picked us for her new home. 

To read the story and see more pictures of Minnie, go to www.aliceliles.com .