Ginger

I would like you all to meet Ginger. She is the creature with whom I share my tiny apartment. As cats go, she is my fourth cat, and definitely possesses a personality all her own.

My first cat boomer, a Siamese, was different than any pet I have ever owned. She would let you dress her up in doll clothes which was something I discovered as a little girl. She never left the perimeter of the fence around our yard. Even on camping trips, she never went far. As pets go, this cat was more protective than any dog I have ever met. She lived to be 17 years old.

I then purchased Slippers from the SPCA. Entirely different from Boomer, Slippers never stayed on our property. She loved to explore and go outside. If we ignored her at night, she would annoy me with meowing and would pull up the carpet in front of my bedroom door with her claws, until I let her outside. She was so persistent that I even let her go outside in the ice storm. Then her ear tips fell off due to frostbite! When I moved out of home, I left her with my parents because she just did not adjust to being an indoor cat, and was very unhappy.

A month after I moved out, I bought Junky from the SPCA. She was named so because she acted as if she was on crack or something. She would run around and go in circles. She would get into anything and everything. She died because of her addiction to getting into things that were not meant for her. She drank two fingers of Jack Daniels that had been left on the coffee table in a glass. Apparently her death was not pretty.

Thinking that would be it for pets, I gave away all the cat stuff I had. My parents then unexpectedly brought me a farm kitten. How could I refuse, right? So I named the orange runt Ginger. She is the perfect indoor cat, tiny and quiet, until................................ bedtime. As soon as I lie down in bed she goes berzerk. She meows at things I do not see. She pushes anything and everything that is not bolted down, off elevated surfaces. If you leave a glass on a table, it is guaranteed to be broken by the morning. My friends think that my cat sees ghosts, and that is what she meows at, but I do not know.

This all boils down to the fact that I think pets are great company and good sources of affection. I find it terrible that Montreal has such strict pet laws in apartments. I do believe in the benefits that can arise from the elderly population having a pet to care for. Many studies list numerous positive benefits of "pet therapy" with the elderly.

As a closing note, I want to give my respects to my dog Toby, who is 13 years old. He is going to be put down this holiday season because of old age. Never have I met a nicer and quieter Cocker Spaniel. Thank you for all the kisses and company over the years.

My fish might feel left out, but who cares, they are just fish!