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Up from the clothes chute

Ed Norton, Cary Grant and me

By GEORGI DAVIS
Published March 6, 2005

I don't always admit this, but I am a cat lover. It isn't that I like all cats, and it isn't that I don't like dogs, but I really like my cat!

You may have met him before. His name is Ed Norton, and he had a hurricane experience last year. Now, what I like best about my cat is that he likes me. No matter where I go, he is right there. He is even helping me write this article.

I know everyone thinks his pet is the most unusual, but I know that Ed is different. For one thing, he thinks he's a dog. He plays fetch with his toys. You throw them; he goes and gets them and brings them back to you.

When the doorbell rings, he hurries to the door to greet whoever arrives and waits patiently until the visitor scratches his ears or greets him. He will walk on a leash. All you have to say is "Ready, Eddie?" and he rolls over so you can put his collar and leash on him.

But he won't walk with the leash outside. He only likes to take walks around the house. He also loves shoes. My husband and I sometimes call him "Shoester." He has never met a shoe he didn't like. If he finds them lying on the floor, he will plop himself down and put one of each of his front paws in the shoes. He's not particular whose shoes they are.

For his birthday, I bought him a live aquarium complete with two fish - one pink and one blue. When I say, "It's time to feed the fish," he jumps on the counter and watches while I feed them. Then I tell him to make them go, and he taps the glass with his paws until they start swimming around.

He and I sometimes take a break in the afternoon. I'll tell him it is time to watch a movie. He runs to the back bedroom and jumps on the bed, and he and I settle in for a classic. His favorites are the ones with Cary Grant. He also likes the wolves on Animal Planet.

In the morning I eat my breakfast (which is a good time to eat breakfast). When I'm through with my cereal I plunk my spoon into my empty juice glass. Ed comes running from anywhere in the house for a little lap of milk.

At night, when it's time for bed, I will say, "Ed, it's time for bed." He runs out to the lanai, where he sleeps.

I don't have to get up in the middle of the night and walk him. I also don't have to follow him around with a little plastic bag and shovel. (That's so embarrassing!) He uses his little litter box and is very tidy about it. It stays outside on the screened-in patio. Sometimes after using the box, he will run around like crazy, going through his little pet door and around the house as fast as he can go.

I can say things to Ed that I wouldn't say to anyone else, and I know it won't go any further. I can tell him when I have to burp, when my bra strap breaks, when my armpits itch or even when I really don't like that lady who lives down the street.

I once saw a commercial that implied that the little girl playing with her cat after school should have better things to do with her time. I really think that's a pretty healthy way to spend time. My cat, I think, is the cat's meow!

Having a pet makes up for the loss of children running around. If you aren't a cat lover, you haven't met Ed Norton!

Thought for the day: Try talking to a cat. They sometimes understand more than your human friends.

Georgi Davis moved to Florida after retiring from teaching in Ohio, and she really misses the hustle and bustle of children and grandchildren.

[Last modified March 6, 2005, 00:13:18]