I’ve had cats all my life but M&M was the sweetest, most affectionate of them all. She was nearly 18 years old, 16 with me after I adopted her from Sav-A-Pet. Previous cats were family pets, and with my teaching job, coaching cross country, directing the school's Variety Show, working track meets and basketball games. etc., the wife and kids were around the cats far more than I was. But M&M was my retirement pet -- it was just the two of us most of the time -- so we developed a special bond.
She loved to travel in my van on trips from 20 minutes to 12 hours in length. Whenever I took her to a friend for cat-sitting while I was going on a trip, M&M would sit on the passenger seat, sometimes with paws on the window, and watch the scenery go by. After getting used to the vehicle movement and road noises, she would get on my lap as I drove (on cruise control) and fall asleep. Then a slight movement of my leg to tap the brakes and she’d take umbrage and growl a bit and go back to sleep.
Her food, water, and litter box were just behind the seat and she’d use them when needed. When I’d stop for gas or at a rest stop or restaurant, she’d climb up onto the dashboard and lean against the windshield glass, soaking in the sun. When I’d return, she always wanted to stay on the dash but I wouldn’t let her in case I had to brake suddenly.
One trip I was having breakfast in a restaurant and two young kids in the next booth exclaimed to their folks,
"Look, there’s a cat in the van window!” I laughed and told them her name was M&M, and then they laughed at her name, so I told them how she had been left at a pet shelter’s back door, in a box with M&M candy in it. The shelter then named her M&M.
She was quite a climber and jumper in her youth. Jumping up tp the kitchen counter was simple, and then a short jump atop the refrigerator. Lots of my cats over the years had done that.
"Look, there’s a cat in the van window!” I laughed and told them her name was M&M, and then they laughed at her name, so I told them how she had been left at a pet shelter’s back door, in a box with M&M candy in it. The shelter then named her M&M.
She was quite a climber and jumper in her youth. Jumping up tp the kitchen counter was simple, and then a short jump atop the refrigerator. Lots of my cats over the years had done that.
When I moved into my retirement townhouse, I immediately finished the basement into a place for large family gatherings. The ceiling was wallboard and this little girl would jump from shelf to shelf in the abutting workshop/mechanical room and also the storage area, thus gaining access to the joist channels above the ceiling.
I finally had to staple cardboard onto the joist ends to block access (as seen below) fearing she'd get caught and need rescuing. Any high place was fair game for her!
When I was painting the stairway to the finished basement, I found her at the top of my 15 foot ladder!
The Christmas tree was another of her play things. She loved Christmas and I had to leave the bottom half of the tree without ornaments to prevent her from knocking them off, and I had to place it far enough away from furniture and window sills and the half-wall to prevent her from playing with ornaments on the upper half of the tree. One night when I came home I found the tree like this -- she had obviously climbed it and it toppled. I wonder if it frightened her.
A cockatiel lived with us for a while and she was quite interested in it!
One of her cat sitters taught her to drink water from faucets, so sinks became a favorite place for her.
Warm laundry fresh from the dryer always made for a nice place to sleep.
Her favorite toys were a bunch of cloth mice filled with catnip. She still had her claws so she could catch them and hold them up with her claws. I would throw one down the stairs and she'd retrieve it and bring it back. And in the new house, the dining room had a 2 story ceiling with a walkway above. She'd reach through the railing and I'd throw a mouse up and she'd catch it with two paws or just the claws. The problem was, I was getting all the exercise with that game -- she just sat there waiting for me to throw the next one.
Here she is relaxing on that second floor walkway with the dining room behind her down below.
Any place was great place to catch a nap...
...especially if it had a view of the birds outside...
Of course, my legs and lap are the best bed...
Farewell, dear M&M: You will never be forgotten or replaced!
