Despite the very real possibility that I will be known as "that creepy guy with the cats" (and not just 'that creepy guy' which is totally ok by me), here's another cat post. But first, big news for my Floridian followers! The Deadbeat Road Trip continues! Lynn and I will be teaching at Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in Lake Worth on Thursday, October 20 and the new Stamp Boutique in Pompano Beach on Sunday, October 23. Can't wait to be back in Florida!
So back to the Scissor Tale... Since I was asked by a few readers to explain the origin of Scissor's name and because I have nothing else to post, here is the story of Scissor.
Stamp Salado opened in October of 2004. Lynn was flying in for some weekend classes but I was alone for the first few days. On one of these days, I heard a heard a cat crying, pretty much nonstop, from under the store (which was an old house). One of the employees next door at Horsefeathers said that she saw some woman drive up and drop a kitten into the parking lot before driving away. Nice, huh? Anyway, so the cat is crying, a customer hears it and feels sorry for it and returns with food. Great. Just what I need.
[these not-so-great photos are from an old film camera - remember those?]
So I start putting food out for him, not that he lets me anywhere near him or gives me the slightest sign of being grateful. But he is clearly very young and hasn't been taught manners. Oh, and he's a CAT! So every day I move his food a little closer to the porch. Eventually after a few weeks he allows me to touch him on the head before running back under the house. At that point, I knew I had won. Or maybe he had won - I'm guessing inside the store was a step up from his accommodations under the house but I didn't check to make sure. At any rate, by December he was a lap cat.
Every year, Salado has The Christmas Stroll where stores stay open late, everything is decorated and lit up and for some reason people seem to enjoy it. On the same night I had gotten between the as-of-yet-unnamed cat and a dog which resulted in multiple bloody scratches on my arms, there was a little boy in the store waiting for his parents to stop shopping and pay some attention to him. I gave him some ribbon so he could play with the cat and at some point he said something to me that I didn't quite understand. Maybe because I'm not a big fan of children, maybe because I wasn't paying attention... I don't know... I'm going to assume he had some sort of speech impediment. Sounded to me like he said "Your cat's a scissor" but that's pretty unlikely since it makes no sense, even for a kid. For all I know he might have said something about his sister. Anyway, my disdain for kids basically led to Scissor getting his name!
Not that I even think naming a cat is all that necessary but some of the regular customers wanted the 'official store cat' to have a name and I was being bombarded by such unoriginal suggestions as Inky, Shadow, and Midnight. So Scissor won out, (not 'Scissors' - too cute) not that I ever call him by his name. He wouldn't come even if I did so why bother? This cartoon from Gary Larson pretty much sums it up:
And yes, your cat may figure out the sounds of the words 'tuna' or 'treat' result in food but that doesn't mean they understand English! They're CATS, fer cryin' out loud!
After Sandy bought the store, Scissor remained at Stamp Salado as an inside/outside cat until one morning he showed up with a huge gash on his butt. Off to the vet who fixed him up but then a few weeks later, something else got him. So after two vet bills, Sandy suggested that he might be happier at my house which he may or may not be but there he is. I've been around cats all my life and I'm not sure if what we think of as happiness relates to a cat. Actually, I think most people don't even understand their own happiness but I'll save that discussion is for another day after a few cocktails!
And for the record, the orange cat arrived de-balled but does not have a name. And just because I mentioned the cat and Dexter in the same post, he is definitely not a Dexter... the cat is way too needy. I am, however, hoping he's going to be a squirrel serial killer. Not too happy with the squirrels. If he hangs around for awhile, we'll see. Who knows? He may even come when he's called but right now he comes when I whistle, or when the back door opens, or when I make any noise at all in the kitchen. So a name is sort of unnecessary.
So that's Scissor's bio. Although I enjoy having a cat around, I would be just as happy with a dog - and frankly, just as happy alone. In other words, I am hardly an obsessed cat owner and as you may have noticed there are no cats in the Deadbeat Designs catalog (no pun intended). I also don't own little ceramic cats or posters of kitties 'hanging in there' so please, save your money and don't send me cat-related treasures. However, hanging on my wall is this framed handmade card which I bought at an art show in Portland back in the eighties, long before I had a cat.
More stamping tomorrow! And no cats!
