This is an equal opportunity house. Cats, dogs, a few fish, a turtle have all shared their lives with us. At one time we had four cats and three dogs, a dozen fish and a turtle.

The cats ( Spot, TizzaButts, Diamond and Putter) lived upstairs. They had their own room. The “Cat Room” had all the amenities necessary for the health, welfare and entertainment of said species. It became an apartment for them. They were free to wander the upstairs and the downstairs living room.

Dog Land was the kitchen and the family room. The dogs (Mohawk, LadyBug and Zelda) had free access to the backyard and all of its smells. The cats did not venture into Dog Land. Well, on of them did. She would jump the gate, run along the baseboards until the dogs started barking and then gracefully, with full distain jump the gate back to Cat Land.

I mention this because that particular cat, Putter, was the last of the four. She resided in my office in our current home and out lived the dogs she liked to torment.

She was a solitary cat, generally. She did not like to be petted or held. She liked to eat and sleep. She just liked to hang out. As she approached the age of 15 she slept more and ate less. She never left my office. All that she needed was right there.

One day we went to the local pet store to get supplies for her. It happened to be a day when the local college cat rescue had an adoption day. We strolled past the enclosures admiring the cats when one of the cats sprang at the window. Her attention was squarely on the spouse.

He stopped and talked to her through the glass and then we proceeded onward. We came back the same way.

And the cat sprang at the window just as the spouse got there. He stopped and talked to her and mention how beautiful she was. As we walked away, she meowed loudly.

In the parking lot there was a brief discussion

He: She is really beautiful

Me: Putter would not be happy

He: Yeah

We got in the car and started the engine…

He: She sure is beautiful

Me: She really liked you

The engine was turned off and Marley came home with us.

Mind you, I did not exist in Marley’s world. (I still don’t) She ignored everyone, including Putter. Although she did take Putter’s favorite spot for a minute or two.

The one exception was the spouse. She sat on his lap, would only eat in his office and would speak only to him.

When Putter crossed the Rainbow Bridge, Marley was sure she owned the world.

And then came the pups.

It has now been 5 years. Marley likes to play with George. Gracie likes to play with Marley. And I still don’t exist.

Unless I leave my laptop open and there is a mouse nearby…

Yeah, I wrote this whole thing just because she screwed up my laptop! It took me almost an hour to get that mouse to work again. She scared the daylights out of it!