I’ve Got Mail!

I have always liked to have a cat. Morningside allows pets if they stay in your apartment and you pay a deposit. My niece, Dr. Ruth Massey, DVM works with some animals who need a home and they thought a calico they were caring for would fit in nicely with me. We agreed, and Ruth brought the sweet young cat over from near Springfield. I named her Buttercup, fixed her living quarters and began our lives together. Trouble rose when my doctor/specialist said that he did not think a young cat was safe for my condition and thought we should not keep her any longer. Sadly I told Ruth of my news and she said that she had loved that cat from the beginning and would be delighted to add Buttercup to her household. My two months with Buttercup ended. Today I received a letter from Buttercup and was able to get her permission to use her work in my column. The next few paragraphs come directly from Buttercup. “Dearest Carolyn, I have been remiss in keeping you updated with my adventures in my new home, I keep telling Ruth she needs to take my dictation because as talented as I am my paws do not type very well. I like my new home. It is big with an upstairs and lots of windows. I do miss the sliding glass door at my old home because there were a lot more birds to watch there. There’s a lot of birds, but they fly by the windows at a distance. Ruth is okay, but she is not very trainable. I get my special canned food in the morning when Baba Gnoush (what kind of a name is that for a cat, I ask you. Nothing dignified like Buttercup) gets her food but no matter how many times I go to the food bowl and look at Ruth with my big eyes all she does is say, there’s food there. There is, but it is dry! Some days Ruth is here all day but other days, she is gone many hours. I don’t know what she does, but she comes home smelling of other cats and dogs. Each time, it is different cats and dogs, so I help her by marking her clean clothes so those animals know she belongs to me. I try to help her get ready when she leaves by pointing out which tooth brush to use but all the thanks I get is something mumbled about cat hairs in her mouth. All at once, the toothbrushes disappeared behind a door I cannot open. I like to help her on the computer as well. Ruth likes to do jigsaw puzzles and it is fun watching the pieces move. I try to help move them, but then they disappear. I looked behind the computer for them but could not find them. She also plays scrabble against the computer and I help her by pointing out letters to use! All in all, this is a pretty good place. I miss you and Shirley and Susan and all the people at Morningside, but I guess Rogersville is a decent alternative. Thank you for two wonderful months I miss you! Love, Buttercup You can imagine how happy her letter made me and I called her right away and Ruth said that she was moving her ears to catch my voice. I’m glad I only said good things about her, because she is a beautiful, well-behaved cat. Maybe one of these days the doctor will think I could get along safely with another cat. If that doesn’t happen maybe she and I could play scrabble together over the computer. In the meantime we will each remember all the nice things about each other.