BOODIE & BUBBLES

These are my girls. 2 Calico cats share my house. Boodie (on the left) is the older of the two. I found her down in Huntsville, AL while working my first full time job in TV. She was an abondoned kitten and had a very large belly for her small size. A producer at WAFF suggested I name her Buddha. So I did. It got modified to "Boodie" over the years. She has travelled with me from Alabama to Buffalo to Boston, then Wilkes-Barre (with a 3 year hiatus in Paramus NJ) and now DC.

She's a bit of a crank, but the lovable kind. She was used to being the only cat for most of her tenure with me, so when I got Bubbles, things didn't go so smoothly.

So, let me explain why I got Bubbles. When I moved to PA for my last job, I moved in with my sister, Jodi, in Stroudsburg PA to save for a house. She has been known to adopt any animal that needs a home. She's got a big heart and kind of sounds like Carmella Soprano (winks to Jodi who reads my blog...I've included a picture of her to your right. -- She is going to KILL me for this, but it's the only pic I could find and rather than hear about "how bad her hair looks" the cap will solve that potential problem. BTW, my nephew Zac was getting ready for a tonsil operation -- OMG it runs in the family!) Her house was already full with 2 indoor cats, several outdoor cats, and 3 dogs (not to mention my Bro-in-law, and my nephew, and soon-to-be me.) So, the Inn was kind of full. My Grandma was happy to temporarily adopt Boodie while I searched to buy my house and live with my sister and her family. When it came time to move into my house and take Boodie back, old Grams wasn't going to part with her. Neither thrilled with either prospect, I set off to the local shelter to pick out another cat -- a cat that could potentially get along with Boodie should Grandma ever give her back.

Enter Bubbles. She, too, is a Calico. Mostly white with splashes of black and gold, she has yellow eyes. Boodie is mostly grey with splashes of blonde and white and her eyes are green. Boodie has a purrrr like an engine. It is one of my favorite things. Bubbles, meanwhile, I think was a dog in one of her lives -- she literally licks people to death. She thinks everyone is a salt lick! I love that.

But I digress... It turns out Grandma is alergic to Boodie. So, I get her back. I never heard so much hissing in my life. And talk about the growling. Man! But, time worked its magic and now they tolerate each other. I dare say they love each other. Bubbles, being the younger one, will often sneak attack Boodie. Boodie will often growl and hiss so that things seem worse then they are. Too keep it balanced, whenever I see Bubbles waiting around the corner about to pounce on Boodie, I pounce on her. "How do you like that little bit?" I'd say.

Every once in a while one of them will get spooked sufficiently so that not only do they get "big poofy tail" (love!), but they might do "sideways piano dance." It's hard to explain, but it happens when one of them is so spooked that they arch their backs and spring up on their tip toes and walk sideways in the arched back position. Anyone who is a cat owner probably knows what I am talking about.

If I have a moth, or a bug in the house, all I have to do is follow their eyes. Mouse? Let's just say that the muffled meow I heard from Bubbles as she frantically paced my bedroom in the dark was all I needed to get on the phone with Ehrlich. Yuck.

I love them. I hope Drew Carey continues the "Have your pets spayed or neutered" routine. I hope more people get their pets from shelters -- there are so many wonderful and loving animals that need good homes. I am so lucky to have opened up my home to Boodie and Bubbles.