Cat Calls

Sometimes vulnerability is a good thing to embrace. Today I'm coming clean: I'm a cat lover.

WHOA Whoa whoa...don't get me wrong. I don't love YOUR cats. I love mine. I've mostly always considered myself tolerable of cats, but ever since these two guys showed up on the scene 7 years ago, I've had to re-think my feline-allegiance:

 Yes, I had hair. Sonny is the gold one, Rex is the cow.

Sure there are ups and downs. Nobody wants to come home and find Sonny's newfound addiction to licking and chewing photographs. But maybe that's just his way of expressing his appreciation for all the food I buy. Hard to tell.

I've met my share of witchy cats over the years, but these guys have given me hope. They follow me around the house, not just for food, but so they can lay on me wherever I come to rest. I absolutely feel appreciated by them, as much as one could from a cat.

(Ahem)...Some people try to give me slack for owning cats and openly professing my love for them...but then I go and find out those people own purse dogs...like yorkies. I'll leave it at that.

How's this tie into hearing? Well, one of the functions I have on my CIs is called "microphone sensitivity" and is best visualized as a radius of sound around me. I can change the setting from 0 to 20 and it controls how big the circle goes out looking for sound. It can be QUITE helpful especially in loud and noisy environments. It has also helped me hear things I never knew existed when it's quiet and I crank the sensitivity up. I like to wear one of my CIs at night, and unless you like to sleep with earplugs in I would assume you can understand why. So last night as I was about to doze off, I realized there was a strange sound I didn't recognize. Sonny was sleeping a little closer than normal and his nose must have lined up perfectly with my mircophone.

Now you have to understand, Sonny boy is a special child. He never really developed a meow...it's always just been a semi-pathetic-squeakish-hiss. For the first time ever, I could hear him purr. It was SO distinct I knew what it was instantly, and so faint that it's no wonder I've never noticed. The sound coupled with the blissful look on his sleeping face gave me a renewed, peaceful appreciation for these two guys. And it is in their honor, and cats with a bad name everywhere, that I present to you:

The Top Ten Reasons My Cats Are Awesome

10. They Are Purdue Colors.

9.  They love a quiet evening by the fire.

8.  They work hard at their craft.

7. They help clean the toilets.

6. They embrace their weight issues, open and honestly.

5. They appreciate holiday cheer.

4. They never give up.

3. They eagerly await the cleansing hour of bathtime.

2. They dance like nobody's business.

And the #1 reason my cats are awesome,
They exercise complete discretion in all situations, ever-aware of their surroundings, without shame.

Not so funny meow, is it?