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MAY 2013
PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE
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6.PTP0513
The tag on the cage said one kitten was
male, the other female. But when I picked
them up after getting them fixed (as is re-
quired to adopt an animal through the shel-
ter) we discovered they were both girls.
It was a sign.
Fast forward five, almost six years. Troy
and I had a baby. A girl. Followed by another
baby. Another girl. And another baby. A girl.
Now, Ayla, 5, and June, almost 3, fight over
who gets to have Tiger on their beds at night.
Tulip always sleeps curled up with me.
As for Troy, outnumbered is putting it
mildly.
And it was all his idea.
Lia Anderson, Outlook reporter
Last September, we held a cat apprecia-
tion party to celebrate the felines in our
lives and honored my marshmallow of a
nephew.
When my sister joined a house of cat lov-
ers in 2010, she became an honorary mama
to Mateo and I became his auntie.
“Mateo is known as the diva cat,” Anna
says. “For a while, he would only drink from
the bathroom sink faucet and he has to have
his own litter box.”
Beth and Kendra picked up Mateo and his
sister, Samara, in 2008, originally thinking
they had two girls. The house calls Mateo its
tubby pride and joy and their reverence for
the white fluffy creature has passed on to
me.
Mateo wraps around you like a scarf, gal-
lops in mid-air when you hold him up and
makes a luxurious pillow. He even allows
Beth to show off his series of “tricks” to
company, posing like Patrick Swayze in a
famous “Dirty Dancing” scene.
There’s a video of Mateo working his diva
magic, swishing his tail to Beyonce’s “Halo”
as he basks in the sunlight.
“He’ll let you do whatever you want to
him, hence why he’s received the nicknames
marshmallow, potato and lump,” Anna says.
But Mateo is also a source of comfort.
He’ll stretch with you on the yoga mat,
reach his paw to your cheek when you’re
having a rough day and keep watch over the
Yellow Hacienda from his window stoop.
One day several years ago, Mateo went
missing for 24 hours. Devastated, Beth drew
pictures of him and hung them on their
neighbors’ doors. The next evening a friend
staying over sleep-walked out the back door.
Miraculously, Mateo was chilling right out-
side it, totally unfazed by the chain of
events.
“We never took Mateo for granted ever
again,” Anna says.
As much as I love my succulent terrarium
collection, I’m thankful Mateo can move me
forward in my dreaming of becoming an ec-
centric Southern cat lady. He’s the finest
feline I’ve found in Portland.
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From page 6
OUR PETS:
Lisa Anderson and Mateo.