Pets are a very important part of many people’s lives.  Let’s face it, we live in a world where it is socially acceptable for a dog to be your best friend and a cat to be your closest confidant.

However, if you are a single woman, over the age of forty with one or, god forbid, multiple cats…you are automatically deemed crazy.  Case in point:

  • A woman in her twenties or thirties with one or more cats = Socially Acceptable.
  • A woman of any age with a spouse and or children with one or more cats = Socially Acceptable.
  • A woman in a committed relationship with one or more cats = Moderately Acceptable.
  • A single woman in her forties who lives alone with one or more cats = She’s obviously Bat Shit Crazy!

This is so not fair!  Why are we labeled as Crazy Cat Ladies simply for being of a certain age and single?  And why does this only seem to pertain to women?  Think about it, you never hear of any Crazy Cat Men.  In fact, a single man over forty with a cat is viewed as adorable.  A single woman over forty with a cat…just plain sad, with a hint of pathetic.

I’ve lived alone for nearly twenty years now, and I can’t imagine not having a cat in my life…or two.  When I first moved out on my own, it was lonely, and I was only allowed to see our family cat on weekends when I visited my parents.  Therefore, although I was afraid of the responsibility, I decided to get a cat of my own and that was when I adopted Bill, the sweetest cat in the world.  Bill was three years old when I met him, and named Mango.  He was a delightful orange tabby cat who had been rescued from an abusive household.  He had major dental problems from trying to chew his way through a barbed wire fence to escape his terrible circumstances.  I remember seeing him at the pet store and fell in love with him then and there.  But, I didn’t adopt him, fearful of all his issues, and left the store empty handed.  I went back to see him the next week, but he was gone.  I mentioned him to the adoption representative and she lit up when I asked about Mango.  A few days later, she showed up at my door with the cat in tow.

And that is when I rescued Bill.  And in return, he rescued me.

I renamed Mango “Bill”, after Bill the Cat from Bloom County fame, and we lived happily for the next ten years.  Bill was a wonderful cat – loving and affectionate.  He stole my heart, and then he broke it into a million pieces when he passed away suddenly.  I was absolutely devastated.  I couldn’t imagine my life without Bill.  Where else was I going to find that kind of unconditional love?  That kind of tender companionship?  He was so special to me, and even though he is in cat heaven now, he still has those pieces of my heart that broke the day I had to put him down.

After Bill died, everyone tried to convince me to get another cat, which I couldn’t even fathom.  I was never going to find a cat as amazing as Bill.  But, after some time, my house felt very empty, and I was overcome with loneliness.

My friend Erin convinced me to go to a pet store with her to look at some rescue kittens that were found along the side of a freeway.  I told her I wasn’t going to adopt, but agreed to go along for the ride.

And the rest is history, as that is when I rescued my two big-boned princes.

After viewing the assortment of overly cute kittens at the pet store, I set my sights on one cat in particular named Digit.  He was called this because he had six claws on every paw.  I immediately fell in love with Digit, and began the adoption process.  Nearing completion, the adoption representative said that since I work so much, it might be a good idea to consider getting Digit a buddy.  I scoffed at the idea.  After all, I was a woman in my mid-thirties – I couldn’t have multiple cats!  But, there was another cat in the bunch that was tugging at my heart strings – it was Digit’s brother, Rocky.  Still hesitant, I was about to leave with just the one cat.  However, when I was told the second cat would be half off…I ended up leaving the store with two cats for the price of one and a half!  (What can I say, I can’t resist a good deal!)

And so, a new love story began.

After bringing the cats home, I was a nervous wreck. What was I going to do with two cats?  And even more, what would people think?  Single woman outnumbered by multiple cats…this is the stuff Greek tragedies are made of!

I renamed Digit “Buster”.  My beloved San Francisco Giants had just won the World Series, so to celebrate, Buster’s namesake is that of future Hall of Fame Giant’s catcher, Buster Posey.   I was going to rename Rocky after one of the 2010 Giants as well…but, he just looked like a Rocky.  And luckily, our relationship through the years has been anything but.

As my two precious kittens grew into two jumbo sized cats – Rocky is sixteen pounds and Buster is over twenty – my love for them expanded as well.  These two cats make me crazy, and yet, they make me laugh and smile all at the same time.  And sure, they take the occasional dump on my carpet, throw up on my bed (while I’m in it), use my $800 couch as the world’s largest scratching post, (along with the rest of my living room furniture), and sleep on my spleen and bladder, respectively, every night.  But I don’t care.  They make me happy and that’s all that matters.  And that’s all that should matter.

And so, I have come to embrace my Crazy Cat Lady status, and in fact, wear the title proudly.  It shouldn’t matter my gender, age or marital status.  I have two companions that are there when I wake up in the morning and there to greet me at the door when I come home from work at night.  They give me a purpose beyond myself, and keep me going when the world sometimes becomes a very dark place – they truly did rescue me from a life of loneliness.

And when people say to me, usually in some derogatory manner, “at least you have your cats”, I keep my head held high and say, “Yes I do!”

I am a Crazy Cat Lady – hear me MEOW!