I had to stop before sitting down to write this to clean up a puddle of vomit under my table. No, we don’t have kids – we have cats. They are a joy and pleasure but there are days I just want to throw them out the door and lock it behind them. It is an interesting life that we lead with these little creatures in our home.

If you were to ask my cats they would likely tell you what a difficult life they lead. Everything is relative though. Is life hard because you don’t have a human attending to your needs 24 hours a day? Yes, 12 hours is just not enough. Is it intolerable to have to sleep on the floor? Yes, I don’t know why the humans kick me out of bed just because I nap on their heads from time to time. Is it unfair that you don’t rule the world? Yes, because the apartment just isn’t a big enough kingdom.

Our cats are a little spoiled, I admit it. Both of them were strays. Oliver, our white cat, was picked out of a dumpster where he was happily eating spaghetti, by a friend of ours. We went over to meet Oliver and my husband picked up that little white fuzz ball and that’s when Oliver did the most adorable flip and roll which instantly sealed the deal. He came home with us that evening. That funny little flip and roll to this day stills gets him his way.

Otis, our tabby, came out of an animal hospital. He had been abandoned outside the Humane Society in a box during the winter. He had to have part of an ear amputated due to frostbite. I went to meet him and he was across the room playing with another cat. I smacked my knees in a come-here gesture and he trotted over to me. It was such a cute trot. He came home with me that afternoon. That trot is still the most heart-melting thing and it stills brings a chorus of “awww” from people who see it.

Our boys have been with us for over a decade. They are family. Just like family there are times when you love them, times when you hate them, and times when you have to haul them off of the keyboarddddddddddd………

Keri lives in Boyle Street. No cats were harmed during the writing of this article.