The Catty Shack - PURRfect Harmony

I am a cat expert of sorts. I have loved cats all my life, or at least as far
back as I can remember. My parents owned an apartment complex in
Washington State where I grew up. As a little girl I remember a tenant we
had by the name of Lydia. She was a cranky, old lady who terrified my
brother and I so much that we would dare each other to ride our bikes
past her front door as proof or our bravery.
I remember two things about Lydia. One, her legs were the most
frightening things I’d ever laid eyes on as kid. They were thick and
bulging and mostly purple in color. Combined with her angry face and
evil shouting, they were scary. And two, she loved cats.
The policy at our apartment complex was absolutely NO PETS
ALLOWED. Old Lydia did not necessarily violate this policy outright by
having pets. Rather, she had a soft spot for the feral cats roaming
around the neighborhood. She put out food for one which inevitably led
to the entire population of outdoor cats, feral or otherwise, hanging out
at Lydia’s front porch for their daily meal and a rub behind the ears.
This, of course, was much to my father’s chagrin, as upholder of the NO
PET policy.
As I watched Lydia’s front door from a distance, I was drawn to the cats
of all colors and sizes as they loitered about waiting for their chow.
Before long I was obsessed with catching one of them. Maybe, I thought,
my dad would let me keep it.
I tried for years to catch and keep a cat, but never did succeed. Catching
it was the easier part - convincing my dad to let me keep it was
impossible. So I grew up cat-less, no doubt the source of any problems I
might have to this day. I dreamt of sitting around with a fluffy fur ball
curled up on my lap, purring softly. Finally, one day it hit me: I was now
an adult and could get a cat if I wanted to, any kind of cat for that matter.
I got a cat. A Persian. One that cost an absurd amount of money. As it
turned out he was also a show cat. This means that I could pay even
more money to let a judge look him over and decide if he was worthy of a
silk ribbon declaring him to be one of their top 10 cats in the show hall. It
took me nearly seven years, thousands and thousands of dollars, and
countless hours of bathing and grooming, to figure out that the whole
judging of cats thing is totally arbitrary and subjective. And like any sort
of competitive arena, totally political.
On the positive side, I learned a great deal about cats during those years
of showing and breeding. I learned how to handle cats with ease and
groom them to perfection. As a result, I opened up The Catty Shack,
LTD several years ago to provide grooming and boarding services for
cats only. I now spend every day with cats.
What I have learned and continue to learn about these marvelous, furry
creatures, I will share with you.