Ellie (Elphaba Queen of da Nile) is my cat, one of two. I love her to pieces. She is a high maintenance cat, but it’s not her fault. When she was a kitten she got the standard upper respiratory infection kittens seem to get and get over. I know my other cat, Yulie (Yul Brenner, King of Siam),  got it first, gave it to Ellie, but he got well. She got worse, pneumonia. I worked like the devil around the clock to save her and I did. But she has scar tissue on her lungs which led to asthma. I write all this because one thing led to another and Ellie is what I would call a challenged kitty. She has to go about every six-weeks for steroid shots. If not, her lung fill up with fluid and she can’t breathe. Her eyes tend to run, her ears need to be cleaned – all from allergies – and she has dandruff. I brush her every day and she loves it. She’s tubby, due to the steroids. It’s not her fault, but she is a girl who likes her treats. One has to face it.

Ellie was born with shortish legs, especially the front ones. She can’t do high leaps. Or even medium leaps. In fact, leaping is pretty much out. She sounds awful, right? Not so. I adore her. She is my doll baby. And just the sweetest. And to me she is beautiful. This might be a lesson in not only is beauty in the eyes of the beholder, but being challenged sometimes brings out the best in other people. I think I’m  better for having Ellie in my life.

On the other hand, Yulie, my boy, is gorgeous. He’s a Flame Point Siamese.

He isn’t as challenged – a normal kitty – and he’s the alpha cat around here. He does’t need me as much, so I don’t do as much for him.  He sometimes gets a little jealous, so I have slotted times of each day when I tear myself away from my writing, Norman, or Ellie’s needs. Yulie likes to be cuddled and kissed, but not brushed so much. He is also just a sweetie. I am so lucky.

The two cats adore one another. And I love them both equally but not the same. Cats are a lot like people, aren’t they? Or maybe people are a lot like cats.