A couple of months ago my husband and I adopted a year and a half old black cat from the SPCA shelter. And ‘Captain Hook’, named thusly for the hook in his tail - has taken over our lives and our hearts. At our SPCA the cats are given categories from “I will be your computer assistant” meaning - I will jump all over your lap and walk on your computer and purr in your lap when you’re trying to write, to “I’m aloof but want to be your friend” which means, I tend to hide under beds but with the right treats I’ll come out and try to be your friend.
Well, we got the “computer assistant”, and he is just that - our computer assistant. If he’s not up walking all over my computer keys and purring, he’s down at my husband’s office doing the same.
I can’t tell you the number of times my work in progress suddenly ends up with a couple rows of Z’s.
And now I get to why I am posting this. Since getting ‘Cappy’, which is he now called, I’ve done a lot of ‘cat research’ online. (Oh, I am SO becoming a cat person), and did you know that having a cat reduces blood pressure and calms anxiety and that stroking a cat’s fur for twenty minutes calms yourself (not to mention the cat). Writing can be stressful. Rejections - in the form of rejection letters - or bad reviews - can cause one to flee to the chocolate jar. I have now discovered why so many writers are cat people. Every once in a while we need the soft fur and a face nuzzle from one of God's special creatures who loves us.
6 comments:
Linda,
Great story line. I think you might enjoy my sister's two part story "For The Love Of Pets" on
A Woman's Voice.
I hope you check it out.
You can find it here on the sidebar.
Thanks again for your post. :)
Hello LInda,
Your cat looks like he could be the brother of our Belle. She also assists me all day long in the office. She too trys to improve what I am doing by walking on the keyboard. Another of her tricks is to tap on each of the venetian blinds to remind me to open them so I will have more light at my desk. (Also, she will have a better view of what is going on outside.) She is wonderful company when my husband is travelling for work and we love her. Before Belle arrived we thought we were dog people, but she has won our hearts.
Oh, but Linda, a few seconds of a cat walking across my computer keyboard while I'm trying to write would probably elevate my stress level ww-aa-yy beyond the stress reduction gained from the prior twenty minutes of stroking! :)
Thanks. I did enjoy it.
Hi Linda - We took our cat to Florida with us this winter. He definitely lessened hubby's stress, which made it easier for everybody. My cat sits under my desk lamp - I thought for a long time, he was pretending to be a chicken sitting under his heat lamp.
Our Moxie is definitely a computer assistant too but we love her anyway. I spoke with a man recently who had major surgery after a motorcycle accident that left him brain damaged and in severe depression. He said his cat came and laid on his chest every day and somehow gave him hope that he'd one day be normal again. He said he credits the cat with literally saving his life.
Thank you for your post. Our Pez looks identical to your Cappy. I am partial to black cats and am so happy you picked yours. They are the last to go at the shelter and need good homes. Ours is very intuitive and comes to me only when I am in need (ya right)
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