Memoir of a Cat Part 3

Read Part 1 here!

Read Part 2 here!

****

Before, Sparta was a cool cat that jumped into company’s laps the moment they sat down. Now, he shies away from them until a few hours later. Before, he had Piddy Paws to play with and enjoyed sleeping the day away. Now, he waits sadly for his masters to come home each day wondering if they left for good and refuses to have any other cat or dog in his presence. When we do return home, Sparta refuses to leave our side sitting on the uncomfortable floor beside me when I work even though he could be curled up on a warm blanket or bed. The behavioral changes in him are something I will regret and chastise myself for his entire life because pets are more than pets. They are part of the family, and I hurt my best friend when he had always been there for me.

            Now, Stuart and I happily live together in Sylva as subjects of Sparta’s two-bedroom mobile home kingdom on the banks of Scott Creek. He owns my entire bed and at least half of the couch, spending his days napping and sprinting through the house now that he has a long stretch of hallway again. For Christmas, he received a three-layer kitty tree, which sits next to the window. Sparta’s happiest moments occur there as he climbs like a monkey from layer to layer or sits on top swishing his tail as his eyes follow the birds outside. Even though he has been in this setting for several months, however, Sparta still exhibits the confusion and hurt whenever we both leave and the clinginess when we return after his ordeal. My hope and my goal as I plan out my future after graduation in December 2013 is that Sparta will have a stable life from now on, one filled with love, attention, and as little road trips as possible. As much as he has done for me every day since we began our friendship sophomore year, I believe it is only fair for me to go out of my way and make his life the fullest and longest of any cat that ever lived. 

The End

Memoir of a Cat Part 2

Read part one here!

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"It was the first night, and Sparta was still nervous and aloof. He missed his companion and his home. He had not yet grown accustomed to my roommates who immediately pounced on him because of his cute face and soft coat. It was the dead of night, but my sub consciousness had been waiting for a sound like the ear-splitting crash that suddenly erupted. Still immersed in darkness, I knew it could mean only one thing: Sparta had knocked over the unstable shelving unit that held my entire collection of snow globes. I flicked on the lights and found glitter, glass, and water all over the ugly carpet of my room. Sparta stood flat against the opposite wall looking scared and not in the least bit sorry. The thought dawned on me that I was in over my head and had never truly been a pet owner before. Was it always going to be like this? With tears in my eyes, my heart ached to have Piddy Paws there and not the Destroyer of Snow Globes as I picked up the large pieces of glass and soaked up the water. Vacuuming the glitter waited until morning.

The dead snow globes

            The next morning, I nearly started packing up Sparta’s belongings to drive him back to my mother’s house. It was not going to work out, I could see that now. He was too rambunctious, and I was feeling guilty for taking him away from his home in the first place. Yet, something stopped me as I watched him sleeping in my beanbag chair. Looking back, if I had taken him home, it would have been the worse decision I would have made.

            Due to the curiosity in his friend’s roommate’s cat, I met my boyfriend Stuart, who increasingly came over to our apartment to play with Sparta. We fell for each other and started dating, thanks to Sparta. Then three months later, Stuart graduated from Western Carolina University and moved to his hometown of Raleigh. We began a painful, lonely one-year long distance relationship. My constant companion and bright star through the entire year was Sparta. He kept me entertained, forced me to get out of bed in the morning, and gave me a living thing to hold at night. Even he knew what it meant when Stuart left, patrolling the apartment and meowing loudly as if looking for him.

Sparta fell in love with Stuart!

            During that time, I also hurt Sparta deeply. In desperation to constantly see Stuart, I often traveled to Raleigh, a five-hour trip from Cullowhee. Because of my few friends and scatter-brained roommates who would most likely kill a fish in a day, I usually dragged Sparta with me. For five hours, Sparta whined and cried down I-40 or settled in my lap between my stomach and the steering wheel wondering when he would never set his foot down on solid ground again. Two nights later, we made the same trip back to Cullowhee with me sobbing at least half an hour of the way after saying good bye to Stuart with Sparta’s pitiful whines in the background.

             After a semester of that, I transferred to UNC-Greensboro to be closer to Stuart. Sparta moved into my new home where there was another male cat and a Labrador retriever. The male cat, Mac, refused to let Sparta out his grasp. Constantly, Mac mounted Sparta and pinned him by biting his neck in his small jaws. It took only a week or two for me to break down in tears over the stress and misery Sparta experienced. I handed him over to Stuart one hour away in Raleigh, heartbroken, promising to bring him back after Mac was neutered. Even then, Mac still abused and tormented my cat. For the rest of the semester, Stuart cared for Sparta, and I spiraled into a deep and deadly bout of depression as I pined away for the cat that had never meant much to me back when Piddy Paws and I were growing up together. Now, I committed so many fouls against my beautiful pet whose personality had started to alter because of the stress of it all."

To be continued...

The Must List, Oct 6

1. Sherlock Holmes' "Mind Palace"
This scene happens in Season 2, Episode 2. What a beautifully constructed scene that completely takes you into the mindset and thought process of Benedict Cumberbatch's interpretation of Sherlock Holmes!! Check it out HERE!

2. "The Light in the Piazza" at the Haywood Regional Arts Theater
I saw this musical last night, and it was such a treat!! Why is it completely under the radar? The acting was top notch, especially the college-aged actors (which included two of my friends) that spoke Italian 75% of the time even though they are your average Southern American boys! One word: IMPRESSIVE. A 20-something girl and her mother travel to Florence, Italy to see the sights the mother visited on her honeymoon with the father. Almost immediately, the girl, Clara, meets Fabrizio - a young Italian man who immediately falls for the redhead American. But, there's a secret that Clara's mother is covering up. Will she ever expose the secret? And, will Fabrizio's love withstand the truth?

3. Foot insoles 
Recently, I found out that I am flat-footed. My chiropractor set it up that I received custom-made insoles for free thanks to my insurance!!! HIP HIP HOORAY! I still walk around campus in high heels, but now, my feet aren't achy or sore. The insoles have made a huge difference in every which way. My lower back isn't in pain all the time, and I stand strong. They are even created to fall short of my toes in order not to hang over or be visible when wearing open-toed shoes. I strongly recommend everyone get some!

4. "Sons of Anarchy" Season 4
The drama is back in this original FX series about motorcycle club, Sons of Anarchy. Jax and the gang have been released from prison and now must deal with the sheriff's department that has taken control of their town of Charming. Gemma, my favorite character, is on the warpath to keep Jax from finding out the truth about his father, but Jax wants out of the club altogether. I can't wait for disc 2 to arrive!!

Gemma in "Sons of Anarchy"

5.  Appalachian Mountains in the fall
The leaves have started changing their color, and it is glorious to watch on an every day basis. Driving to school is even enjoyable because of the sheer beauty that surrounds Little Honda. I highly suggest taking a trip and visiting soon before any heavy rain knocks all the leaves off the trees.

6. Daniel Radcliffe in Horns
Didn't see that one coming did you? Harry Potter is back!!!

The Must List, July 22

 This week's Must List will take you out to eat, to your nearest book store, shopping at iTunes, and relaxing with sweet music.

1. "Spotlight (Oh Nostalgia) by Patrick Stump
I cannot get enough of this song! Yesterday, I posted the music video, and since then I've downloaded the song from iTunes for only .99 cents and have been listening to it like crazy! I love it!!

2. Sunday breakfast at Hooper's
Hooper's is the replacement restaurant for Flat Iron... which basically means it took a different name in order to get more business. Stuart swears it's the exact same menu. Papa's Pizza tried the same thing, poor dears, and became Mike's. They're now closed. They barely lasted two months. Thankfully for us, Hooper's is open and has the most amazing sausage patties and the fluffiest pancakes known to man!! A trip to Sylva is in order just to try their amazing pancakes. Watch out though. Hooper's knows how amazing their food is, so prices are a bit high!!

3. Goodreads
Goodreads is a website dedicated to books and book lovers. You can rate, write reviews, talk about books you own, connect with your Facebook and Twitter, participate in giveaways, take quizzes, add friends to see what they're reading... If you love books, this is the place to be! This morning alone, I updated my progress in Ghost Dogs of the South and participated in giveaway contests.

4. Ghost Dogs of the South by Randy Russell and Janet Barnett
What an amazing book rich with stories of detail, true puppy love, and history!! Pick up this book today and never put it down! You will fall in love with each amazing tale of a dog that loved its owner so much that it either returned from the grave or protected him or her from the evil of the afterlife!! There was even a story about why cats and dogs hate each other that was set in a town just a few miles from us!!

5. 1940's playlist
Build yourself a playlist of music from the 1940's. It's relaxing music. It's dinner music. It's dancing music! It's sitting on the couch on a Sunday blogging on your laptop music!! Be sure to include:

• "It Had to be You" by Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
• "As Time Goes By"
• "Autumn Leaves" by Nat King Cole
• "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra
• "Moonlight Serenade" 

6. Adam Lambert's Trespassing album
There are only a few songs I can't get into on this album. The rest are Adam Lambert GENIUS!! "Pop That Lock," "Cuckoo," and "Kickin' In" are fun, booty-grooving songs. "Underneath" is raw beauty and truth exposed through song. "Never Close Our Eyes" and "Better Than I Know Myself" have already become huge pop favorites! "Outlaws of Love" is the last track that will leave you wanting more... so you better buy the extended version!

5th Time's a Charm

 Well... I find it ironic how much I hate change and have the lifetime desire to find my perfect home, but I keep moving. This will be the fifth time I've moved in two years! Thankfully, I'm not moving across half the state this time. It's just from Cullowhee to Sylva.

Welcome to Sylva, North Carolina

As much as I'd love to divulge why I'm moving again, I'm going to wait until I get my deposit back before I spill the illegal secrets of my landlady and her so-called "business." I always had a twinge of worry in the back of my mind since I never saw the place or met her before I moved into the single wide, two-bedroom trailer up on a mountain covered in tall trees, llamas, and mini horses. Still, even if I had gone over the trailer with a comb... there would have been no way Justin or I could have seen the kind of trap we were moving into!
Right now, I am pet sitting three large and friendly dogs in Greensboro. The day I get back... WE ARE MOVING OUT AS FAST AS WE POSSIBLY CAN!!! Already, Stuart and I have taken box after box over to the new place in Sylva in an effort to just get out of that trailer!! Believe me, I want to get as far away as possible as fast as I can!

The new place!!! <3

The new place is a longer drive from Western Carolina than I would have liked... but it's so beautiful and CLEAN!!! Like you don't think of a trailer as being clean... that's not anywhere close to the stigma that goes hand-in-hand with a trailer. But this... is only two years old, custom ordered with extra insulation, and was kept very neat by the woman who used to live there. The trailer has two bedroom, carpet everywhere except the kitchen, and comes with a beautiful tan leather couch that could double as a bed. No puke green walls or stained carpet!!! It sits on a small property with view and access to Scotts Creek, a small-sized, fast-moving river. There's a yard in the back and on the sides where we will plant a garden and have a screened awning in the back overlooking the creek. The bubbling creek cancels out the noise of the traffic on Main Street, which is across the creek. It's a short walk to the library, the Farmers' Market, downtown restaurants, and the City Lights bookstore from our new place. Sadly, Jack the Dipper ice cream parlor isn't downtown, too. That would be ideal!!

Jack the Dipper ice cream parlor... not in downtown

It will also be the first time since the summer in Raleigh that I will have both of my pets, Sparta and Nutmeg, in my house on a full-time basis. I am so excited to get Nutmeg back. I've missed that crazy hamster, and after reading a hamster care book, Stuart and I found out that we've been caring for her all wrong this entire time!!! And somehow, she never died!! Yesterday, I purchased a wire cage high rise, which attaches to her glass cage in order to give her three extra levels for more fun, more exercise, and more air flow as compared to the stuffiness she has experienced in her glass cage. At the same time, the high rise is easily detachable so we don't have to worry about Sparta trying to pry apart the wire top when we're gone or can't watch them. Stuart and I also plan on feeding her more fruits, a spoonful of fruit yogurt now and then, a pinch of meat once a week (yes, meat!!!), and provide nature's own joys like branches from a willow tree or washed grass. Apparently, hamsters LOVE this stuff!
Now, as to my roommate... well, I'll announce that later on, but I can't wait to tell you all (my four devoted readers, I adore you all). In the meantime, I'm chilling in Greensboro, waiting... waiting... waiting........... I JUST WANT TO MOVE... RIGHT NOW!!!!!!