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Abstract

y her, and she passed away, at the age of 15, shortly after I finished the first draft.</p><h2 id="b73e">Anastasia</h2><figure id="9aba"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*bIxqBVc8_TOWQMTDVDkY_A.jpeg"><figcaption>Anastasia is not quite certain how she got into this pot. Image by the author, Earnest Painter</figcaption></figure><p id="3aef">A few years after I adopted Carmela, I thought she was lonely, so I adopted a baby kitten for her. Anastasia was also small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, but she was already eating food when I adopted her. Black and white, she was full of energy, as every kitten is. But she was a lot more gentle on me, and my arms appreciated that. I adopted her from a shelter and brought her into my home so that she and Carmela could keep each other company.</p><p id="078e">They hated each other.</p><p id="e298">They hated each other on the first day and at the end of Carmela’s life they had established a way of living in the same space, pretending the other didn’t exist. I love Anastasia dearly, but I will tell you that it’s probably a good idea to let Providence bring you the cats that you need.</p><p id="ec62">Anastasia is wonderful in her own way. She’s the Southern Belle who is sweet, but mostly interested in herself. If I don’t enough attention to her she knocks things off the shelf — regular cat stuff. But when I’ve been sick and stayed in bed, <a href="https://www.ratherearnestpainter.com/bemolardiente/2017/3/13/fever-and-nurses">Anastasia has been next to me almost every minute</a>.</p><h2 id="e20a">Raku</h2><figure id="511f"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Mds4DfxSshka2Fn4sj-5IA.jpeg"><figcaption>The brown spots around her nose are reminiscent of raku-fired pottery. Image by the author, Earnest Painter</figcaption></figure><p id="98e3">Raku arrived through providence. My partner found her under the front porch. I lived in Austin at the time, and he asked if I could take care of her until we could find a home for her. He never even bothered to try to find a home for her. She is beautiful, very large and forever a kitten. Her presence in my home helped to break the tension a little. Anastasia isn’t crazy about her, but they do get along and play together. And at the time, they kept each other busy and left Carmela alone.</p><figure id="69fb"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readme

Options

dium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*q7uvBsSFmnFwBFUS5aGk2g.png"><figcaption>Image by the author, Earnest Painter</figcaption></figure><p id="d725">Raku got her name from our friend, Richella, a ceramic artist whose tiny pots were fired with the Raku technique. Richella had six cats when she passed away, and we adopted them. As a tribute to Richella’s art, I named this new kitten Raku, and the spots on her face are reminiscent of raku pottery.</p><figure id="8351"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ZslofDqDZc3I1nMZ4oxQSQ.jpeg"><figcaption>Image by the author, Earnest Painter</figcaption></figure><h2 id="a48d">Home</h2><p id="a40f">We have two acres here in this small town in Central Texas. At one time I believe we had 15 cats, or very close to it. They are grouped in different parts of the property, in different buildings, and most roam free, at least in the daytime. (They have never all been in the house.) And, I would not have owned that many if it were left up to me, but my partner has a soft spot for animals. Cats are smart enough to pick up on this and exploit his weakness.</p><p id="b736">Some of them graduate from “I’m a stray cat and I thank you for the 9Lives” to “Excuse me, I don’t like this flavor of canned Fancy Feast, may I have chicken?” more quickly than others. Again, I would show them the door and the back gate, but I turn around and there’s my partner mixing water into the chicken Fancy Feast, to give it more gravy for the stray cat.</p><p id="0888">This is not to say that I mind having so many cats. It’s a lifestyle. Watching their personalities and how they interact with each other is the same for me as watching people interact. Which is one of my favorite things in the world to do.</p><p id="e406">Thank you for taking your time to visit with me and my cats. We all hope you have a beautiful rest of your day and week.</p><h2 id="113c">Good-bye</h2><figure id="6b8a"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ryYxICMAuEmF-vM879I8jw.jpeg"><figcaption>Raku says, “Thank you for visiting.” Image by the author, Earnest Painter</figcaption></figure><p id="f195">My novella, <i>Carmela’s Outside</i>, will be released this year. Stay tuned, and check out my website below.</p><p id="8b6c"><i>Visit my blog, <b>bemolArdiente</b>, at <a href="http://ratherearnestpainter.com">ratherearnestpainter.com</a>.</i></p></article></body>

Cats I Have Loved

The positive side of living with cats

I have written several tributes to cats of ours who have crossed over the rainbow bridge. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you will likely be familiar with a lot of these cats, and know that our household is feline-friendly.

If you do not follow me on social media and you are not familiar with my blog, bemolArdiente, then when I share reminiscences of my cats who have recently died, it will seem that I only talk about them once they’re gone. I don’t necessarily want to bombard you with them here… (okay, I kind of do), but I think at the very least I should share that our cats are loved and are a part of our lives.

Carmela

Carmela was the very first cat I owned. She was with me through the ‘bemol Ardiente’ that my blog was named after—a small downturn in my luck. It was actually a full-on emotional crisis, but I like the poetic effect of the phrase, so went with it. (You can get more background here, if you are curious.) It was just her and me for a few years, fighting to get it back together as everything was crumbling around me.

When I adopted Carmela she was so small she fit in one hand. I fed her kitten formula with an eyedropper for a few days until she was able to drink it on her own. Once she got her energy back, I spent the next couple of years with scratches on both arms, because she loved to play and didn’t really know to keep her claws in. Being a new cat owner, I had no idea what to expect. We figured it out together.

Carmela was my muse and my friend. My book, Carmela’s Outside, was inspired by her, and she passed away, at the age of 15, shortly after I finished the first draft.

Anastasia

A few years after I adopted Carmela, I thought she was lonely, so I adopted a baby kitten for her. Anastasia was also small enough to fit in the palm of my hand, but she was already eating food when I adopted her. Black and white, she was full of energy, as every kitten is. But she was a lot more gentle on me, and my arms appreciated that. I adopted her from a shelter and brought her into my home so that she and Carmela could keep each other company.

They hated each other.

They hated each other on the first day and at the end of Carmela’s life they had established a way of living in the same space, pretending the other didn’t exist. I love Anastasia dearly, but I will tell you that it’s probably a good idea to let Providence bring you the cats that you need.

Anastasia is wonderful in her own way. She’s the Southern Belle who is sweet, but mostly interested in herself. If I don’t enough attention to her she knocks things off the shelf — regular cat stuff. But when I’ve been sick and stayed in bed, Anastasia has been next to me almost every minute.

Raku

Raku arrived through providence. My partner found her under the front porch. I lived in Austin at the time, and he asked if I could take care of her until we could find a home for her. He never even bothered to try to find a home for her. She is beautiful, very large and forever a kitten. Her presence in my home helped to break the tension a little. Anastasia isn’t crazy about her, but they do get along and play together. And at the time, they kept each other busy and left Carmela alone.

Raku got her name from our friend, Richella, a ceramic artist whose tiny pots were fired with the Raku technique. Richella had six cats when she passed away, and we adopted them. As a tribute to Richella’s art, I named this new kitten Raku, and the spots on her face are reminiscent of raku pottery.

Home

We have two acres here in this small town in Central Texas. At one time I believe we had 15 cats, or very close to it. They are grouped in different parts of the property, in different buildings, and most roam free, at least in the daytime. (They have never all been in the house.) And, I would not have owned that many if it were left up to me, but my partner has a soft spot for animals. Cats are smart enough to pick up on this and exploit his weakness.

Some of them graduate from “I’m a stray cat and I thank you for the 9Lives” to “Excuse me, I don’t like this flavor of canned Fancy Feast, may I have chicken?” more quickly than others. Again, I would show them the door and the back gate, but I turn around and there’s my partner mixing water into the chicken Fancy Feast, to give it more gravy for the stray cat.

This is not to say that I mind having so many cats. It’s a lifestyle. Watching their personalities and how they interact with each other is the same for me as watching people interact. Which is one of my favorite things in the world to do.

Thank you for taking your time to visit with me and my cats. We all hope you have a beautiful rest of your day and week.

Good-bye

Raku says, “Thank you for visiting.” Image by the author, Earnest Painter

My novella, Carmela’s Outside, will be released this year. Stay tuned, and check out my website below.

Visit my blog, bemolArdiente, at ratherearnestpainter.com.