Questions About My Cat

Please help me understand.

In case you were unaware, the editor-in-chief of this newsletter is a cat. The executive producer of my podcast Social Anxiety Variety Hour is a cat. My New York City landlord is a cat. Her name is Polly the Demon Queen, she is ten, and she is a chonky chief executive autocrat. We have lived together for 3.5 years.

I still feel like A New Cat Owner, and I have a few questions that I am hoping you can help me with. But first, some background info on my large adult cat. (As an aside, please feel free to share stories about YOUR cats past, present, and future in the comments).

I met Polly in Los Angeles when she was seven and I a mere lass of 39. She displayed a lot of fearful aggression, swiping and hissing if I got too close (which at first was anywhere within eight feet of her). She has extra toes, so that means extra claws!

Polydactyl cats are sometimes called Hemingway cats, but I’m the alcoholic writer in this household.

The early days of our blessed union, after she decided she mostly trusted me and at least liked eating and drinking and getting pampered. See how she is already channeling spirits.

Polly had been bouncing around foster homes for three years, since her original owner went into full-time nursing care. Her most recent foster human had wanted to adopt her, but lost her job in the early days of the pandemic and couldn't afford it.

Let’s just say we’ve spent a LOT of pandemic time together.I had only planned to foster her for a few days.

She actually called the strike authorization vote merely as a performative measure because she in fact called the strike herself, as she was bored.

I planned to foster cats here and there to have some company during lockdowns, since I wasn’t in a little quarantine pod with anybody and lived alone. I figured it would be good preparation for adopting a dog one day.

Anyway, I woke up the next day with Polly sleeping by my feet. I adopted her that day. She still wouldn’t let me pet her much for a few days, and it took weeks for her to stop hissing when I entered the room, but I do believe we love each other very much.

Nearly three years after I adopted her, I finally caught COVID. She sat on my head and groomed my hair. I imagine this is sort of like if you are a very huge kitten with a much smaller but very attentive mother.