Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Gerald And The Cat House

I've told you about our really great, great nieces and nephew in Sioux Falls, but I haven't told you about our really great, great nieces and nephews in Pierre, South Dakota. Our nephew Matt and his wife Lindy have given us 12 greats.

Don't worry. That's 12 cats. Lindy is a soft touch and has rarely met a homeless cat she wouldn't take in.

I have many favorites at Matt and Lindy's house (in addition to Matt and Lindy themselves), but Trooper is by far the most amazing and admirable cat. She has only three legs and sprints around the house easily. She's sweet, outgoing, and unbelievably intelligent. She knows she's not allowed on the dining room table (the other 12 apparently never got that memo). So, Trooper sits in her very own chair at the head of the table during dinner. Lindy passes her a morsel, which she politely accepts, after which she patiently waits for another.

TROOPER SAYS GRACE.
SO REFINED. NO ELBOWS ON THE TABLE.

Matt and Lindy had 13 cats when we were there in September having taken a friendly cat named Gerald home from Lindy's parents' farm. But they realized Gerald would never become a house cat. Primarily, he didn't have much interest in the litter box and, despite having a houseful of cats, Matt and Lindy had never had a house-training problem with a single one.

Secondly, Gerald was just a bit too wild for the indoors. He kept doing things he wasn't supposed to do. And, every time he misbehaved — like incessantly attacking Trooper as she slept — someone would yell, "Gerald!" which prompted San Geraldo to snap defensively, "What?!?"

Neither Gerald ever caught on. (I wonder if I should take San Geraldo back to the farm, too.)

AVA, WHO IS NOW SO LOVING, WAS TERRIFIED OF EVERYONE FOR YEARS.
IN SPANISH, HER NAME WOULD SOUND A BIT LIKE "ABBA."
SO I CALLED HER ABBA THE HUTT.
GERALD GETS A TIME OUT. (AS IF!)
POLYDACTYL JOEY IN HIS FAVORITE POSITION.
GERALD (LEFT) AND TROOPER.
GERALD THEN JUMPED ON THE TABLE.
LINDY: "GERALD! BEHAVE YOURSELF!"
SAN GERALDO: "WHAT DID I DO?!?"
LINDY: "GERALD!!!"
SAN GERALDO: "WHAT?!?"

If you haven't read how San Geraldo first learned about cathouses, click here.

Behave yourself!

26 comments:

  1. Mitchell my favourite is the giant black cat

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    1. Gosia:
      She used to have to be kept in a room by herself. Matt and Lindy worked their magic over time and she is now the sweetest ball of fur.

      Delete
  2. What a gem that clip is! It seems like Victor Borge's humor was an influence--or was it vice versa? Anyway, I loved hearing the Norwegian accent that all my old aunts and uncles had...sigh.

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    1. Ms Sparrow:
      Jerry has lots of family still in Norway, so we still get to hear Norwegian and Norwegian accents of varying degrees. (Some of the cousins speak better English than we do!)

      Delete
  3. I absolutely LOVED reading this! In the Chicago airport now. See you in a couple weeks.

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    1. Lindy:
      More to come today. We can't wait to see you!!!

      Delete
  4. Hilarious!!
    Cats! Gotta love them!

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    Replies
    1. Jim:
      You can imagine feeding time at that house. It's a riot.

      Delete
  5. your blog title sounds like a country song...

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    1. anne marie:
      I love it... "Gerald and the Cat House: Sleeping triple in a single bed."

      Delete
  6. Cats should have as many toes as they want. But it's hard to imagine living with a dozen cats.

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    1. Stephen:
      Two is enough for me, but I sure do love visiting Matt and Lindy.

      Delete
  7. I just hope your Gerald(o) is litter trained...

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  8. How did Gerald (the cat) get his name? Our Bert is not a house cat, despite his desires to become one. The dog will not tolerate him in the house. So he's an outdoor kitty. Upside: we have no litter boxes to deal with.

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    1. Walt the Fourth:
      I don't know how Gerald got his name. I THINK Lindy's mother named him, but I'll have to ask.

      Delete
  9. I'd have assume that Gerald had been a female tortie if I hadn't known. And Lindy's leopardy colouring and pattern is really special - not that she's aware of it, or even cares! I could do with borrowing Trooper to demonstrate manners to my trio. As for Ava, she looks as if she's holding sway over her right royal domain.

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    1. Raybeard:
      Trooper is a truly exceptional cat. Ava used to spend all her time in a room by herself. Lindy and Matt worked magic and she is now a sweet and loving cat. She fell in love with Jerry. As for Lindy's leopardy colouring, Lindy is the niece and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have leapardy colouring but she probably wouldn't mind.

      Delete
  10. Herding cats in South Dakota! We had 5 cats at one point; 2 too many for us. One of them had 3 legs and 1 eye. He pitied the other cats with that bulky 4th leg. Hoping you post more photos of the cats. Love the skit.

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  11. I like the new(?) photo of the Kid Brother - he is smiling! Is it a new one, or am I only now noticing it?

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    1. Wilma:
      I changed the photo of the Kid Brother in August. So, ti's only been there a couple of months, which means it's still new!

      Delete
  12. I remember you telling me about these two. More people who make me feel almost normal! :) Kudos to them for helping so many cats!

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    1. Knatolee:
      Matt & Lindy (B&G Produce) follow you regularly and really enjoy what you're doing. They are also now keeping bees and making honey (more to come on the honey). In case, you haven't noticed, I think they're two of the most wonderful people in the world.

      Delete

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