Friday, October 20, 2006


This is our son's cat, Pizza Puss, another member of the "cast of thousands". I KNOW that Pizza Puss is an odd name. Our son, who is now 20, named the cat Pizza Puss when he was 8 years old. Pizza Puss took to our son immediately. One of our cats had a litter of kittens in a laundry basket. When they got old enough to climb out of the basket, one kitten would climb out and run right to our son. Of course, this endeared the kitten to him. He chose the name Pizza Puss because he had yellow-orange fur, like cheese on a pizza. You have to understand that we have had cats with odd names throughout the years. We had Donut, ABC, 123, Donut #2, and dogs with names like Peeves and Mr. Body. So you see, Pizza Puss is not that strange. Anyway, this cat loves our son SO MUCH, I've never seen a cat bond to anyone like that. When our son is here, Pizza Puss is sitting on him. He sits on him while he reads, while he studies, while he watches tv, while he plays video games. The ONLY time Pizza Puss is not on him is when our son is eating. When our son goes to visit his father and grandmother, 100 miles away, Pizza Puss sits in his chair and waits. If he is gone for an extended period of time (for instance, he stays several weeks at a time during the summer), Pizza Puss comes and sits by me, and waits. (Maybe Pizza Puss can tell that there is a genetic link from me to our son, I'm not sure exactly why he sits by me.) Pizza Puss prefers to drink from running water. He meows to tell you to turn on the water in the bathroom sink, so he can drink. If he has to drink from still water, he dips his paw in the water and licks it off. Pizza Puss is 12 years old now, and not in good health. About 2 years ago, one of his ears started bleeding. We thought that he must have ear mites and that all of the scratching caused it to bleed. We treated the ear mites, but it continued to bleed. Finally we took him to the vet, and the diagnosis was cancer. The vet said that they could operate, and hopefully get it all. They did operate, but they couldn't get all of it. We were informed that we could do another surgery, but that might not get it either, and that they would not put him through another surgery if he were their cat. They sent him home with the diagnosis that he probably wouldn't live another year. Well, he is a tough cat, and he has lasted more than a year. He gets a little off balance when he tries to jump from one piece of furniture to another, but I would get off balance if I did that too. He is getting a canned cat food diet, (the other kitties are extremely jealous-even when we tell them that he has cancer and needs some special attention). He doesn't get fussed at nearly as much as he used to. And he is the only cat that can get on the kitchen counter without getting shooed away or sprayed with the water bottle. I will hate to see him go, first because I like him, but more because of our son. When Pizza Puss dies, it will hurt our son down to his very soul. They have been inseparable since Pizza Puss climbed out of that laundry basket 12 years ago and chose our son to be his person. Pizza Puss has been his companion and confidant, offering unconditional love. He has seen him through divorce, a move to a new city, a move to this house, the loss of a greatly loved grandfather, adolescence, elementary school, middle school, high school and two different colleges. If love could keep someone here on earth, Pizza Puss would be here forever. Personally, I am just grateful for every day we have with him.

4 Comments:

At 9:33 PM, Blogger GoGo said...

Cheers to Pizza Puss. I had a cat from 6 years old to 22 years -Kimmie. It was hard to loose her and I still miss her. I also had a dog, Black Beauty from 3 to 6 years old...and I still her too

Animals are family members. Having many animals I'm sure you can attest to how different each animals personalities are and a new one cannot possibly replace the old one.

Thank you for sharing Pizza Puss' story. What a wonderful cat! Sounds like your son will have supportive Mom's to grieve with.

~GoGo

 
At 2:08 PM, Blogger Rose of Sharon said...

I hope Pizza Puss is enjoying a nice warm lap right now. Our animals are family to us. I can't imagine my life without my pets.

Hope all is well with everyone at home.

 
At 8:19 PM, Blogger Get A Life! said...

Awww! That was a nice profile of Pizza Puss. I hope you are all well.

 
At 4:29 PM, Blogger The dykes next door said...

Well, Pizza Puss is still alive and kicking. He has far outlived his original year, and at this point his ear is not even bleeding. So, maybe some special cat angel is watching over him. Maybe it's Harriet (AKA Our Lady of Perpetual Aggrivation) speaking in other tongues in his behalf. (This refers to an early post on this blog about one of our kitties who sounds constantly aggrivated, but isn't...AND, when she gets ear mites, she shakes her head and makes unusual noises...therefore, Our Lady of Perpetual Aggrivation.)

 

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