A tale of three cats

Trevor's Take

Maybe I’m just getting old, but sometimes I just need ‘home for a rest.’

Thing is, I’m not sure that one would necessarily mistake my very active household with a Zen Garden. Sure, it’s sometimes a little quieter than when there were five kids at home, not counting the hangers-on. But with two teens and a tween it can get interesting.

And of course there is my oldest daughter who is an animal whisperer. We now have three rescued cats adding to the serenity of our happy home. The first was a barn cat. I gave a hard no on that one. Five years in, Barn Cat is ok, I guess. As long as he gets his treats at 6 a.m., 6:05 a.m., 6:10 a.m. – you get the picture.

The second cat was literally rescued from a dumpster. Dumpster Cat got an “absolutely not,” from me. Eight months later and he lets me live in his house. I will note that if he were a human, incarceration or at least court-ordered bail conditions would be a likelihood, as cute as he is.
The third one was a ditch rescue. I reluctantly allowed Ditch Cat to stay over one night while efforts were made to re-home him. That was six months ago.

The mornings can be fun: The three of them running around all nimbly-pimbly. And helping with the mice in our century-old house is helpful, if not exactly an appetizing start to the day.

I try to tell the family that I hate cats but it’s not effective when all three are lying on me and I browse Pinterest for cat activity walls and make sure they have treats. Even Dumpster Cat has taken me as his own. And yes, we made sure all are neutered, stay inside and have up-to-date shots.

I don’t know what’s going on meow, but I’ll be damned if this trio of felons didn’t make me into a cat person. I probably always was.
When we got these three, there was no or very limited capacity at the local shelter. So, despite my half-hearted “no’s”, it was really the only thing to do. The kids know that how you treat an animal is a direct indication of how you treat a human.

And there is a need to show how we as a community treat animals. According to the Kawartha Lakes Humane Society, there are currently 134 animals looking for homes. If you can’t accept one yourself, please consider donating to KLHS if you are able. Every bit helps.

There are at least five references to a classic cult comedy message in this column. Send an email to with the subject The Cat Game. A winner will be selected and Fireside Publishing House will donate $25 in their name to the KLHS. Meow!