Shelby, Queen of All She Surveys

Shelby, Queen of All She Surveys

by Alexsandra Hamilton
(Belgrade, Montana)

You can never read an entire newspaper at once at my house.

You can never read an entire newspaper at once at my house.

You can never read an entire newspaper at once at my house.

Shelby was a stray that we got at our local shelter one winter four years ago. At that time, the shelter was so overcrowded that they kept the bigger, older cats outside in large enclosures.

We walked by several of these enclosures several times, trying to pick out the perfect cat. In one, Shelby was sitting at the door, wailing every time we passed. I looked closer at her, and she literally jumped around happily, like a dog. And so she began her life with us.

At about 16 pounds, she is one of 7 cats and 3 dogs at our home, and she seems to have command over all of them. The cats pay her respect as she swaggers by. But she seems to prefer the company of our big black labs. When a neighbor's lab happened into our yard, she got mad and chased him away, swatting at him as she ran after him.

Her curiosity knows no bounds, as she's quite adept at opening every cabinet and drawer in the house (as well as doors; we still haven't figured out that one yet). She also enjoys climbing up the ladder when my husband puts up the Christmas lights each year. The first time, she climbed up next to his chest, and he was so surprised he almost fell over.

She actually does like to be carried around, and is very happy to knead your shoulder and purr madly while you hold her, usually leaving your shoulder full of wet cat snot. But her meow is loud and long; no chirping here. You can hear her on the other end of the house, as she will answer you if you call her name.

The only annoyance is the fact that I haven't been able to read an entire newspaper in one sitting since we brought her home. Her favorite hangout is on our kitchen table, splayed across the paper, adjusting her position to wherever she sees your eyes move to. Petting her only encourages this behavior, and putting her on the floor only gets her to jump back up again. And so I give up.

I never knew I could have such a cat buddy. I hope we have a long and happy life together.

Alexsandra

From Shelby, Queen of All She Surveys to Maine Coon Cats

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Shelby, Queen of All She Surveys

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Mar 04, 2011 Surprised!!
by: Teresa

Imagine my surprise running across this post! I miss you and all of your animals! Love the photo and story, looking forward to seeing all of your soon, any more stories out here??


Nov 14, 2010 SIMBA
by: Carol - Delray Beach, FL


Life is good!

My husband and I adopted a one year old Maine Coon named Simba a few months ago, and she has definitely made herself at home. She loves to play, will let you know unmercifully when she is bored or wants something, and likes to sleep between our heads at night on our bed. We adore her!


Oct 22, 2010 Lias the same way
by: Kathy W

My Lia is exactly the same way. He hates for me to read a newspaper. He will sprawl out on it. What I do is I keep the sections seperate than when he sprawls out I pick up another section from the floor and read it on top of him. He hates this but its the only way. Our new cat Mariel is the same way. Only she rolls around. Bumping your hand demanding you pet her. Shell even give you a little love nip if you try to ignore her.


Oct 21, 2010 Shelby
by: Maggie

Shelby is an absolutely beautiful girl. She's very big too. I would have no doubt in saying she's a pedigree Maine Coon, or a Maine Coon mix at least.

You may, or may not, know of my Abyssinian cat, Chilli. He and Shelby happen to share a certain quality. Chilli also loves newspapers! He just loves kicking back on a newspaper! If no newspapers are available, he'll happily settle for magazines or homework.

You should consider writing an article about the shelter that you got Shelby from. It sounds like they need a bit of publicity to help out with homing all those cats.


Oct 21, 2010 Lovely cat
by: Michael

Hi Alexsandra, nice to hear from Montana. Thanks for a really nice story and showing us Shelby, who seems to be a great cat - smart too.

Michael Avatar


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