Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Tidbit Tuesday: Hi I'm Cindi...and I'm a cat thief


When I lived in China, I've never seen a cat before.  But after moving to the States, I fell in love with these furry little animals that were running around in my friends' homes.  I was a pretty lonely kid, oftentimes played with only one friend, but most times I wandered outside of our apartment just by myself, doing...I don't know what!  But this one day, I was outside our front door and I heard this meowing sound that was coming from an apartment complex next door.  It was a gray/white/brown tabby staring straight at me, talking to me as if we've been friends for ages.

*Disclaimer - Please please please...pretty please don't judge me for what I did next because I was, after all, 8 or 9 years old at the time* :)

I walked up the balconey stairs the kitty was hanging his head off of and started to pet it.  He continued meowing as if he was telling me something and I knew at that moment...he wanted me to rescue him.  I didn't know what it was that surged inside me, I just knew I needed to swoop this kitty and take him home with me.  As I started hearing the theme music for Inspector Gadget in my head, I made a swift move and picked up the cat.  Off it went with me to my home.

When I got home, I prepared a sob story to tell my parents.  "The cat followed me home...he had nothing to eat...all I wanted to do was feed him...and I won't let him in the house...etc."  I was quite proud of my persuasive skills at such a young age, now that I think about it.  But my parents gave in pretty easily and said I can keep...Cookie...yep...I had already named him at this point.

Fast forward almost two years later (and five pounds heavier for Cookie), my friend and I met a very nice young student attending school at the local University.  Him and his girl friend lived in the apartment complex next to ours and they owned lots of animals.  From rabbits, to cats, to snakes!  Being that I loved animals, they would invite us in to play with them.  Now..I know this sounds creepy...but it totally is not...I swear!  One day while we were inside, I told the nice young man that I also had a cat.  And described Cookie to him.  He looked at his girlfriend with a suspicious eye and said, "You know Babe, that sounds like Toby." 

Cindi, "Oh no...my cat's named Cookie.  He's great!"
Nice Young Man, "Well we lost Toby about a year and a half ago, he sounds like he looks like your cat."
Cindi, "No...Cookie's MY cat!"

So he dropped the subject because...well...he's a Nice Young Man and he probably didn't want to take a cat from a little girl...even though Toby was his.

A few months later, my parents decided they would move to a bigger apartment, which allowed NO pets.  I met up with Nice Young Man and his girlfriend to ask them, sadly, if they'd take care of Cookie for me.  Tears were streaming from my face as I asked them to be good parents to my little baby, Cookie.  And his response:

Nice Young Man, "Oh sure!!  We'd love Toby back!"

I think it took me a couple more years to finally realize what I had done.  I stole this nice couple's cat!!!  I was oblivious at the time, but now I feel horrible.  If one day I have the opportunity to meet up with Nice Young Man again, I'd buy him some drinks and apologize!   

Oh and another disclaimer...my cat Ty was from the pound.  :)  I learned my lesson and know now that stealing a cat is not the right way to go about owning a furry four legged friend.
My Ty...at his best!  

Happy Tuesday all!

15 comments:

  1. Haha! That is hilarious! I think it's funny that the couple let you keep the cat even after they found out where their "toby" had gone. In the end, they got their cat back and you got to nurture your love of cats! Ty is a cutie!

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  2. Kristin - I know, considering the couple was probably in their early 20's, they were actually really nice and considerate. If it were me, I'd send this kid home to her parents and demand my cat back! Haha.

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  3. omg your story is so cute!! i can't believe they actually "pretended" to be ok with it and let you keep the cat.. if some neighbor took my dog.. i would be hecka pissed hahahahha he was a REALLY really nice man!

    your ty is so freaking cute!!

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  4. That's kinda amazing that they don't have cats in China? I can totally understand the child impulse to want to take the kitty home. And I agree with Kristin, those ppl are pretty amazing for letting you keep him. I can't honestly imagine I'd be so willing with my babies! You must have seemed like a pretty awesome cat-mommy.

    Lorispeak

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  5. Terrie - Awww...that's a cute story. I always wonder why cats go and climb trees when they always get stuck! :) Oh and those nails...they glue on and fall off naturally after a few days...or sometimes weeks. They just shed naturally with their nails or Ty tries to bite them off. He was pretty fussy at first, but now he's great when we put them on. He hardly moves!

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  6. Lisa - I know right? They are sooo nice. If someone were to take my Ty, I'd tie them up and demand him back. Haha.

    Lori - Haha there are cats in China but I don't think I've encountered one. Most probably run wild and hide by the time I'm around. But i mainly played in my dad's school yard where he taught and we lived on campus, so it was hard to see animals there.

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  7. Lori - Haha...yeah they're blue to match his collar. :) They're called soft paws and they're just nail covers so he doesn't scratch up our furniture or us. It's a more humane way to declawing cats. He don't mind them at all and we don't get hurt! :) Win win situation.

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  8. Awww! What a great story! I love it! And your kitty is so cute and funny! I wanted a cat for years, then was stymied because I found out that at least three out of four of us (me, husband, and Rowan) are allergic. =P Booo!

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  9. Omg, you had me cracking up you lil cat thief. On the bright side, you gave Cookie a good home and good love. Think of it as you 'borrowed' Cookie/Toby. lol, I think catnapping is forgivable, but def not kidnapping.
    An Ty is the CUTEST cat in the cosmic universe!!!

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  10. Oh my goodness, this is too funny! You had me cracking up, and I'm glad it all worked out in the end. And at least Cookie had a good home away from home!

    I have a bit of a cat story of my own, of which I'm not proud. When I was growing up, there was a little girl who lived next door. Sometimes she was nice, but sometimes she was very mean to my little brothers, which was not okay with protective older sister like me. One day, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. She loved cats, so I decided pretend one of my (very realistic) stuffed animal cats was real, just to play a trick on her. I put it in a basket, wrapped it in a blanket, and took it over to show her the new family "pet." And she believed me! I'm an awful liar, but somehow, I pulled off that little trick for a few days, until I felt guilty enough to tell her about it.

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  11. Oh lady, you crack me up! You know what, at least Cookie/Toby was well loved!

    And that pose from Ty - he looks like Pacey bc at least one of her limbs are always randomly up in the air at a time!

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  12. hehehe - very funny Cindi! It was nice of the couple to have let you keep Cookie. If i were them i would have snatched Cookie back from you :-)
    I love that picture of Ty . What a great pose. It's like he's trying to have a crack at yoga or something!

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  13. I really miss my cat. I had to give him up when I moved to college, and my friend took him in. Eventually, his neighbor asked if they could adopt my cat because he looked exactly like their cat that had just died. Kinda weird, 'cause they renamed him after their deceased cat. But at least he had a happy home.

    On a side note, this video will make you laugh if you haven't already seen it:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhRW4WmfrDA

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  14. Omg....totally obscene! Just like my cat Malcolm!!! Hahaha wow. I thought only my kids are this shameless!

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