Kitty Birthdays
Matt Seinberg

We have three cats, Daisy, Scarlett and Dakota. Shortly after we lost Daphne, in 2015, Daisy and Scarlett came to live with us. Dakota came moved in on 1 September 2016.

Birthday cakes for cats.

My wife, Marcy, figures Scarlett (above) was born on 15 April 2015. How many owners celebrate cat birthdays with a cake? We do. Marcy made a cake that we finally finished today. I think its vanilla with chocolate frosting.

Do cats have any idea when they were born or when their birthday actually is? Do cats really care? I believe that all that matters to them is food and water, when they want it and a clean box to do their business in.

It's we, their owners, which humanize pet behaviour. This is anthropomorphism, attributing human characteristics and motivations to animals. We talk to our pets as if there are children; some people even dress them up on the holidays. We don't.

Daisy belongs to my daughter Melissa or is it the other way around. Daisy is aloof; she cuddles and snuggles only with Melissa, in her room. If Melissa isn't home and my wife is, Daisy spends with Marcy. She rarely if ever spends time with me; she was supposed to be my Daphne replacement, but it didn't work.

Scarlett is more open as far as relationships. When I could catch her as a kitten, she let me hold her and rub her belly. She purred like a well-tuned engine!

Scarlett lets me know when she wants attention.

Now, when Scarlett wants attention, she lets me know it. If I'm sitting on the couch watching television, she circles around for a bit before jumping up onto my lap, where she settles down for a little while. If anyone else comes into the room or she hears a loud noise, off she goes. She may or may not come back for a long while, if at all.

When we're watching television in bed, Scarlett will look up at me, let out a little meow and hop on my lap. Again, she circles around for bit, making sure there are no bed bugs, and finally settles down. She insists on me petting the entire time she’s on the bed.

If I stop petting her, Scarlett head butts my hand to start again. Every now and then, she'll flip over, wanting to get her belly rubbed. Last night she almost flipped herself off my lap and onto the floor! Luckily, I was able to catch her and get her back on my lap.

When we first considered adopting, after we lost Daphne, the thought of two cats came very slowly. After seeing these two little beauties in person, we knew we had to have them. Scarlett had a brother that hissed at me when we first met; I knew I didn’t want that cat.

I later met the woman who adopted him. She said he turned out to be a warm, loving fun cat. Perhaps he didn’t care for human male hormones.

Dakota and I have a thing going on.

I felt lost after Daphne passed. That’s when I adopted Dakota, without telling anyone. She is the most loveable ball of fur in the house. She has some of the same qualities as Domino and Daphne, my previous cats. I still believe to this day that they put us together at the shelter. So the question always is, who rescued whom?