Queen of Cats

When my sisters and I are kids, our parents refuse to let us have any four-legged pets (a policy that is greatly protested, especially by Sara).  My mother repeatedly reminds us that she is allergic to cats, and she later confesses that she hoped this would prevent questions about getting other pets (though we do have a much-beloved bird for thirteen years).  My mother’s reason is always the same: she does not want to clean up and take care of another pet, even though we assure her in our most convincing tones that a dog won’t be a burden. 

The years pass and the disease takes over and my mother gets increasingly excited to see cats and dogs on the street and when she visits friends.  At his office holiday party, my father wins a door prize that he has no idea what to do with, but my mother loves it immediately.  It is a hat that looks like a leopard with earflaps that drape into a scarf, the ends of which resemble paws (I’ve heard it referred to as a “scoodie”).  The faux fur is unbelievably soft, and the face includes a smile made of stitches. 

Every time my mother sees the feline hat, she points and laughs.  For fun, I drape the paws around her shoulders, and she wears it around the house until she forgets what it is and drops it on the floor.  Sometimes I pretend it is alive and wave one of the paws at her.  “Meee-ow,” I mock.  She laughs and pets the cat’s face as if it is real. 

We give her this hat/scarf cat when she goes to bed at night, and she nods agreeably and runs the tips of her fingers over the smooth plastic eyes.  As my father makes the bed in the morning, he watches her put the cat on her pillow and gently cover it with the bedspread, as if tucking it in for the day. 

For Christmas, McKenzie gives our mother a small stuffed animal cat that has extra-large black plastic eyes to increase its cuteness factor.  Our mother breaks into a large smile every time she sees the stuffed feline.  My sister waves it in front of her face and says, exaggerating a hard “k” sound, “Kitty Kat” to make our mother laugh. 

Over the next few months, when our mother sees the cat, she points and stammers, “k-k-k-k-k…” while smiling.  We hand over the toy, and she smiles.  And then she shovel-passes the stuffed kitty to the nearest person before she laughs out loud.