You Can't Judge a Cat by Its Pedigree

I might as well get it right out there: we have four cats. I know, I know. Can't figure out how it  happened, myself.

Frost is a white American Short hair. That's a fancy way of saying he's just a plain old cat who happens to be white. (and this one happens to have it made, as you can see.)

Mimi is a torti medium length furred something. I think she is part Persian because of the round eyes and longish fur. The most remarkable thing about Mimi is she is dumber than a box of rocks.

Lily is a white Maine Coon. She is an old cat. We adopted her when she was nine. She was raised as a Queen in a cattery, that is, a kennel. Her sole reason for living was to reproduce. She was a good mama, but she was not a pet. She had been petted, and her physical needs cared for, but she was skittish, somewhat wild (still is) and did not trust us at all. That has slowly changed, but she will never be a 100% pet. She has a pedigree a mile long. She's the big cat your right. Pan, the unreal cat, is on your left. Pan sleeps a lot.

And last, but not least, (to say the least) is Eli. He is also a white Maine Coon. We've had him since he was a wee babe, picked him out of the litter of three and brought him home at age two months. He is now a little over two  years, and will grow until he is five years old.

Here's the thing: Our two "alley cats" aren't alley cats at all.  They will eat nothing but dry cat food.

Our two pedigreed cats are pigs.

You have to guard the table or Eli will steal your food. He is so tall  he can sit just under the rim of the table, raise up on his hind legs and throw a right cross into your plate, nab a bite with his big old mitts and have it swallowed before you can yell, "Eli!" He also eats his dry food, Frost's specialized dry food, and wet canned food. In other words, whatever isn't nailed down.

He also turns over waste baskets, digs into the garbage bags, and rolls around in the dirty clothes. Gross.
If you look closely at his photo above you'll see he has dirt all around his cute little pink nose. That's from grubbing in my houseplants.

And Lily eats out of the dog dish. She's gonna get killed one of these days. If I see her doing this with Molly (the bulldog) within sight, who by the way is trembling from her cute little snout to her stub of a tail in total indignation all the while, I will get Lily out of the way.

This morning Lily ate leftovers I'd put in Molly's bowl. Noodles, a green pea, some broccoli and carrots. She also loves leftover mashed potatoes. This is a CAT, people.

Perhaps the reason they are the way they are has something to do with the legend that Maine Coons are partly Lynx. Look at Eli's picture and you can see, visually, why folks say that. If you  live with them, you can hear why too. It's unnerving.

I guess what I'm saying is if you want a sweet, dainty, docile kitty, get a mutt.

Or a small dog.