Top Ten Reasons My Fat Tabby Should NOT Run for President

A new Top Ten list is posted every Monday.

1. My tabby's name is "Puck." Too many easy puns there.
2. A Cat President would be chaos - dogs would never stand (or sit, or roll over) for it.
3. All the fancy White House Christmas tree ornaments would end up under refrigerators and couches.
4. Too many embarrassing You Tube videos would surface.
5. Puck's not likely to stay awake during any Cabinet meetings (or any meetings), anytime, anywhere.
6. He is likely to cough up hair balls during State Dinners.
7. Puck would "make cookies" in the hairpieces of foreign dignitaries.
8. He would bestow Kennedy Center Honors upon Keyboard Kitty and Spaghetti Cat.
9. He's easily bribed .... with tuna flakes, Pounce ... kibble ...
10. We've had too many fat cats in the White House already.

ADOPT, FOSTER OR RESCUE A SHELTER CAT

Cat Connection - LA

Kitten Rescue

Stray Cat Alliance

Top Ten Reasons Puck Was the Best Cat Ever

A new Top Ten List is posted every Monday.

1. Puck had the most amazing big green eyes.
2. Puck always knew how and when to comfort me.
3. Puck would always acknowledge me when I entered a room.
4. No cat ever purred louder or harder.
5. Puck was Daddy to the other kritters, and was ever-tolerant of those  animals coming and going.
6. Puck wasn’t picky like so many cats are – he’d eat anything.
7. Puck didn’t get into mischief as do most other cats.
8. Puck shared my pillow and purred me to sleep.
9. Puck woke me up by playing with my hair and purring in my ear.
10. God loved Puck even more than I did and he called him home.

R.I.P. 1998- 2012
My Big Beautiful Baby Boy

Pillow Talk With Puck

I've been sharing my pillow with Puck for more than 14 years.  Sharing my sleepy time, my dreamy time, my "I-can't-get-out-of-bed-time."  Puck joined my family when he was 8 weeks old, and even then he didn't have a lot of kitten energy.  He's always been kind of a sleepy time guy.

I never have to go looking for Puck.  Puddin hides.  Opie and Little Mess are free range kitties, they could be anywhere at any given time.  And I never know which drawer or cupboard Darwin will be in.

But Puck .... he's usually on my pillow.  Or near my pillow, or somewhere on the bed.  And as I approach I hear his purr revving up, growing ever louder.

It used to annoy me, that loud purr of Puck's.  I used to complain that I couldn't get any sleep with that buzz saw in my ear.  But now, as Puck grows ever older, and the buzz saw grows slowly softer, I can't imagine falling asleep without it.

It's the best sleep aid there is.



Top Ten Reasons My Fat Tabby Should NOT Run For President

A new Top Ten list is posted every Monday. If you have a suggestion for a Top Ten list, send it to petpurri@gmail.com. If we use your suggestion we'll send you a prize!

1. My tabby's name is "Puck." Too many easy puns there.
2. A Cat President would be chaos - dogs would never stand (or sit, or roll over) for it.
3. All the fancy White House Christmas tree ornaments would end up under refrigerators and couches.
4. Too many embarrassing You Tube videos would surface.
5. Puck's not likely to stay awake during any Cabinet meetings (or any meetings), anytime, anywhere.
6. He is likely to cough up hair balls during State Dinners.
7. Puck would "make cookies" in the hairpieces of foreign dignitaries.
8. He would bestow Kennedy Center Honors upon Keyboard Kitty and Spaghetti Cat.
9. He's easily bribed .... with tuna flakes, Pounce ... kibble ...
10. We've had too many fat cats in the White House already.

ADOPT, FOSTER OR RESCUE A SHELTER CAT

Cat Connection - LA

Kitten Rescue

Stray Cat Alliance

Live Your Life Like Boss Cat

Puck is Boss Cat.  Yes, we all know that.  But how has he stayed on top for so long?  Well, maybe it's because nothing rattles his 20+ pounds.

Some nights when I come home from work, every cupboard is open.  Sometimes I wake up in the morning and every cupboard is open, and sometimes even a drawer or two.  I know that is usually the work of Darwin, with an assist from Lillie-Belle and Twink.  A lot of work goes into that mayhem.

The bedding is often askew (everyone has a paw in that).  Shoes are rearranged in the closet (Opie).  Toilet paper is unrolled (Puddin).  In other words, everyone else is busy making mischief.  And where is Puck?  Puck is in his sitting spot at the top of the stairs, watching and not much else.   

Puck has never been sick. Never felt stress.  Never had a housemate he didn't get along with (save for the dogs he won't let pass on the stairs).

Puck is Boss Cat, but he is so much more than that.  He is the calm in the eye of the storm.  Puck spends his life chillin'. 

Maybe in our quest to be Boss Cat of our own lives, we are going about it the wrong way.  We need to spend more time chillin' at the time of the stairs, and less time rearranging shoes and opening cupboards.

The Puck Stops Here

Puck is Boss Cat.  Let there be no doubt.  Puck is the only resident of this home (present company included) who goes where he wants, when he wants, eats when he wants, where he wants.  Puck is Boss Cat.

Puck has rarely been challenged by other cats, even those only passing through.  On occasion, a dog has challenged Puck.  On occasion, a dog has learned that Puck is Boss Cat.  Usually after a swipe to their big old dog nose.


Puck is not a mean cat or a bad cat, not by any means.  Puck is a very sweet, loving cat who purrs louder than an cat I've ever known.  But he does not suffer fools, never has.  And when he's in his spot on the stairway landing, dogs do not pass.  Cats may pass, but go softly, go wide.

Because the Puck stops here.

Puck the Stairway Bouncer

Puck has never been an active fellow, and the older he gets, the less active he becomes.  In his later years he has taken on the role of stair bouncer. 


Sitting at the center at the top of the stair landing, Puck decides who passes.  Which means, cats get by, dogs don't even try.  Sneaky Squirrel, who has never made any kind of sound that I know of, will try to sneak by when Puck is asleep.  This strategy is often successful.  Puck is often asleep.


When Puck is awake, trying to sneak by him results in a wicked slap of the paw.  Puck is very good at his job.

Puck's Prerogative

Puck is a massive cat, a 20-lb. tabby who carries most of his weight in his low-slung belly.  Puck is middle-aged now, having spent most of his life in pursuit of food and sleep.  But mostly food.  As is his prerogative.

Lately Puck has decided that it's too much trouble to groom himself, and being that his coat is somewhere between longhaired and shorthaired (which makes him medium-haired, I guess), he has begun to get mats, mostly in the hind quarters.  Or he would get mats, if I'd let him.

I've never had a cat with mats, and I'm not going to start now.  So much to Puck's chagrin, he is now getting almost daily brushings, whereas before he was brushed only when he needed to be brushed.

And he absolutely hates it!  He hisses at me, claws at me, runs from me, and tries to bite me.  All of which is Puck's prerogative.