Gato Says I'm Sorry

One day in late October or November of 2001 I had a teacher friend over to help her input grades into a grade book. I had everything set up the table was cleared and a light was strung across the dining room to the table for more lighting. I knew this might be dangerous but left it anyway. My friend arrived and we settled into grading papers. It was getting late in the day and I saw Mrs Gato stroll over to her food dish with her tail in the air. Then what I didn't want to happen; happened. Mrs Gato caught her tail on the cord hanging in the kitchen. She took off like a rocket and the lamp rolled on the floor. Thankfully Mrs Gato was not hurt and the lamp did not break. I calmly went back to work on the papers without the lamp. When I glanced back in the living room, there was Mrs Gato laying with her head in her paws. Then she looked up and said as clear as day "mmorry" (sorry) My friend was amazed! "She said I'm sorry!"
I just grinned and said "yep she talks"
Mrs Gato got a tiny piece of my lunch of curried lamb and all was forgiven.
But Mrs Gato did not stop there. When I went to bathroom later to freshen up I asked "Mrs Gato where are you?" She answered just as clearly "I'm mmriiight here!"
 My friend was blown away again. "She said I'm right here!"
 I giggled "yep she talks and now she's showing off. Where are you Mrs Gato?" She again answered "Here I aaamm!"
We all had a good laugh.
I love my talking cat Mrs Gato

New Game

I keep remembering my wonderful cat Mrs Gato 1991 - 2003
One day shortly after she came to live with me after living with my bf for 7 years she and I were having a game with her feather toy. I got tired of swinging the toy and asked" if we could make a different game?" "Lets play hide and seek! You go hide and I will move the toy!
So off Mrs Gato went to the entertainment center. I thought she would hide in the shadows next to the cupboard but instead she did something remarkable. She opened one cupboard door with her paw and climbed inside the shelving! I could just see her paw read for the toy outside the door. We played find the toy for another 15 minutes
Such a smart good kltty! I love you Mrs Gato

The Men Attraction

As you have read; Mrs Gato was raised by a man in a wheel chair. Well she kept some of her affinity for men even into her later years.
We are now in Punahauo street in Hawaii
One morning after spending a quiet time reading with me on the sofa Mrs Gato leaped to the top of the dresser. She was not agile and pretty much liked to keep all four on the floor; so this was quite unexpected behavior. I got up and followed her gaze out the window. Down below were some men adding stucco to the outside of a house. They had been there for 5 days now and were making pretty slow progress. What made this day different was that the boss showed up. I could not believe my eyes. There stood a spitting image of her former owner if he would have been able to stand. He was about 6 feet tall lean and muscled. I could certainly admire him too. Mrs Gato had either heard or smelled the difference in this man's presence and identified it as something she knew. I was amazed
Ok so we moved yet again. Now we are on the other side of Punch Bowl in Hawaii.
I slide between the cool sheets to tuck in for a good read. Low and behold Mrs Gato makes a flying leap to the top of my dresser again this time with such vigor she scratches my cheek with her claws. What on earth! I peak out the closed curtains for a look into the dark expecting to see a big monster cat prowling around. Wow was I in for shock. There on the far side of the alley was another apartment with an open window to their bathroom. The man of the house was taking a hot steamy shower! Again he looked just like her former owner and my ex boyfriend. I have a peeping Toma cat!
Hope you had a good laugh. Mrs Gato loved me but she really knew her men.

Gato-isms

Here I wanted to jot down some creative saying that Gato and I said to eachother. Sometimes I would hear her voice in my head and sometimes I would make up different names to call things which she responded to.

"Paws Up!" = high five...err...high 4 in her case
"Whiskers Touch" = kiss kiss
"Fur Off!" = no clothes on!
"Foot Pads" = shoes
"Nose to Tail Weather" = cold!

I'll add more when I remember them.

Fat Cat

Today I want to tell about the time Gato was a fat cat. I know she would not like the title of this entry, but it has a good ending.
For awhile I was on a very limited income and could not afford her usual Nutro Max Salmon flavored crunchies. Instead I bought a cheap box at the grocery store. I gave her regular canned food at dinner. Then around 2 weeks later Gato started spreading out in the middle. I just took it to mean that Gato was getting older and slower and thus gaining more weight. 3 weeks went by when I got my new issue of Cat Talk. There was an article in it identifying the main ingredients in most cat food brands on the market. The article went on to say that the cheaper dry food uses corn as a filler. Cats are not able to digest much starch and so it turns to fat right away. The next level up uses soy protein. And the highest quality uses animal protein. The highest quality was also the highest priced. The Nutro Max was one of those higher quality foods. I showed Gato the article. Yes I turned the page to her so she could see it. I said "Well it says here that we should be feeding you the more expensive diet so that you don't gain weight. Ok so the next time I get a check, I will get you the kind you like"
Did you know that for 1 week Gato did not touch her crunchies! I kept checking to refill it. She ate her canned food. But she stopped eating the cheap dry food all together. I was amazed at her knowledge of the English language. As promised, I bought the one she liked a week later. Within 2 weeks she was back to her normal weight and her fur was soft and shiny.