Rufus

Rufus

Rufus was my fourth.  Yes, by this time I knew I had a problem.  I was well on my way to becoming a cat lady.  I had Tempe, Roger, Frank and I had been foster parent to Milo (he got caught living in his mommy’s dorm room, so he came to live with me for a semester).  When Milo moved back home, there was a big furry hole in my heart. 

When my friend Jen got married to her college sweetheart, I was reunited with my hight school girls for a whole weekend to participate in the festivities.  Sunday, after the wedding, while Mr. & Mrs. Justin Seay were on their way to honeymoon bliss, Abbey, Sara, Dorothy and I went to Abbey’s parents’ house to see their new kittens (you can already see where this is going).  In the middle of a litter of skinny solid black kittens, was this fat gray poof ball.  And it didn’t take much urging from Abbey’s dad before I had a shoebox with one of his old sweatshirts in it sitting in the front seat beside me as a bed for my new kitten.

After much debate, Rufus was named after Rufio from the movie Hook…because of the hair.  It stuck out in all directions.  And his hair was the perfect illustration for his personality.  Rufus is a walking comedy. 

A few Rufusisms:

• Rufus is knock-kneed.
• Rufus runs into walls…frequently.
• Every Christmas, Rufus lights his tail on fire.  Yet I still light delicious smelling candles and put them on the coffee table each year.
• Rufus gets lost in the hallway.
• Rufus wants you to pay attention to him, but only when he wants you to.
• Rufus hates to be picked up, or cuddled, or petted for any extended period of time.
• Rufus picks fights with his own tail.
• Rufus secretly knows deep down that he’s an outside kitty.
• Rufus looks morbidly obese in the winter, and svelt and trim in the summer after his haircut…yet he still weighs 14 pounds.