In for a Penny . . .
In keeping with the quickie posts, now I’ll tell you a little bit about our friend, Penny.
I begged Nicky for years, “Can we get a dog? We should get a dog. Can we? Please? How can we live life without a dog? I need a pet. Let’s get a dog, okay?”
Then one day five years ago, I came home from work to find Nicky with a box containing a teeny orange kitten. In utter disbelief, I said, “What is that?” You know, because Nicky was so anti-pet for so many years.
“It’s your new cat. What do you think it is?”
“Oh. For real? Like, to keep?”
“Yeah. So now you can stop bugging me about getting a dog.”
I know Penny is technically a girl’s name – but he’s copper-colored. We debated for weeks what to name him, and at the very last minute – when we had to write his name on the vet paperwork – I just gave up and said, “Fine. Penny. Penny Porkchop Hengel.”
We rarely actually call Penny by his name. More likely it’s: Punkin, Peanut, Pencil, Punkin Head, Twinkie Belly, Carrot Legs, Booger, Poopski, Little Guy, or Buddy.
Penny will eat bugs and lint, drink from the toilet, and lick himself, but he only likes a few “real” foods: tuna, plain Greek yogurt, and cheese popcorn. What a discriminating palate.
Penny is not a lap cat, but he follows us wherever we go. He sleeps at the foot of the bed every night, and makes sure I get up in the morning by knocking everything off the nightstand.
Penny’s favorite things are chasing crumpled paper, jumping between the sheets when we make the bed, playing in the tub after someone takes a shower, and walking back and forth in front of my face when I’m at the computer.
Yes, sometimes I let Penny watch bird and squirrel videos on You Tube. No crazy cat lady comments, please.
Penny is my little shadow, and I can’t imagine our lives without him now.
Life without cats is not possible once you’ve had one…or two…or more. We started rescuing cats about 15 years ago and ended up with 25, and three were pregnant. Through the years some have died, some have been given away, and some went to live with our kids when they moved out. We’re now down to five; one just died this week from breast cancer. Each holds a place in our hearts.
We’ve had a dog also, and the cats taught her to be a cat. She would bat at them with her paws and try to lie down in their cat beds. She would round up the kittens when they escaped from their mothers and take them back to her.
To be loved by a cat is the highest honor one can have.
Agreed. I’ve had cats all my life, for the most part. I love dogs, though, too. I think I need to live somewhere where I can have a gaggle of pets and kids
i love animals, these are the cutest pictures of your new kitty. Thank you for sharing your love of your new pet. Myself i Have 5 dogs and 7 cats. I live on two and one half acres in the mountains
Ahhh. That sounds amazing! I would love to try to do some posts on here about where the readers are from and what they do in their hometowns — I’m so interested in what y’all are about! Maybe soon . . .
I love Penny, he is so adorable! The first picture makes me just want to squish him up and love on him lol
hehee. I love his cubbyhole tower I think my cat would be jealous of it lol
I am a lover of all animals but cats are awesome and I have always had a weak spot for orange ones. When I was about 15 our cat got pregnant and the first thing I said was if one isn’t orange I will cry. Well low and behold she had two orange kittens in the litter and I chose the one with white on his face! I still have my Fat Boy and I am now 27. He is the biggest baby <3 I now have 3 cats 2 of which are orange hehe
Thanks for sharing your cute pictures of penny, he doesn't look spoiled at all
I really do think orange cats are the best . . . Penny is the fifth orange cat I’ve had. I think they have the best personalities!
Penny is lovely. He so looks like my one of my best male cats, brownie, I lost in April of 2009. I started keeping cats in early 2008 and before that I was so scared of them. But now all of my cats are part of my life.
Oh no. I hope you still have a kitty or two keeping you company . . . they are such good friends.
Awww. I love Penny! We got our first cat about 5 years ago. Not for the love of cats, more for the hatred of mice! We live in a terraced street in west London and if the Mice are disturbed by builders, they just up an move along the houses! I didn’t like the idea of poisoning mice babies and preferred nature to take its course, so we inherited Socksy. Since then, and since Socksy did such a fab job, we are now the owners and lovers of two cats. The second one is Pants… Mr Ooobop thought that would be hilarious…. and he has opposable thumbs (Pants that is)! Neither are lap cats but both have distinctive personalities and traits. I love the way they are free to come and go as they please and for that reason alone I think they make the best pets ever!
Agreed! Cats are the perfect mix of pals and independence — awesome pets.
Too too cute! We have two orange tabby cats who are brothers and appropriately named Mac and Cheese
. I had never had cats or dogs before and I really can’t imagine what life was like without them around. I’ve never been a fan of being by myself in the house, just because of the quiet but they solve that! I keep telling my hubby we need a third orange tabby to name Roni so we have Mac, Roni, and Cheese but he says no and I guess I can agree because our two little guy are SO bonded with each other and with us. Thanks for sharing all the adorable pictures. Ours are obsessed with the app on our phone called “Cat Toy” that has various bugs that scurry across the screen. There’s a website that does it too but I fear for my computer screen’s life with these playful guys combined with bugs on the screen!
That is hilarious! I keep telling Nicky that we need to get a gray cat and name him Nickle.
Hello, first sorry if the sentences are not read correctly, I use a translator, google translator specifically, I write from Spain and constantly follow you today I finally decided to write.
Penny is gorgeous, I have a cat too, is called Timmy and yes, I wanted a dog but now I could not live without Timmy, do the same things that Penny, I also “help” to make my bed I sought, sleep me sitting on top of the newspaper I read, is a delight.
A kiss from Spain and I know you love your blog.
Muak
Oh, thank you so much! I wonder why cats like jumping under the covers and sitting on papers so much? They’re so funny that way!
XO,
Heidi
Penny is awesome some of my cats do kooky stuff like penny too thanks for sharing him with us
Kooky is the perfect term for cats . . .
Penny is such an adorable guy! Thank you for sharing a peek into his life! Also, it was great seeing your work spot…I remember when you made your topper for your computer!
haHA! That seems like so long ago . . . we must be old pals by now
Loved reading about Penny. He’s so handsome! My cat Mouse was a stop-begging-me-for-a-dog cat too. She loves to play in the sheets when we make the bed too. Love the crafty looking house Penny has. Lucky guy!
I’m actually so glad we have a cat now, rather than a dog!
Just found your website now from One Pretty thing and am enjoying it. I am a veterinarian of many years and have seen a large number of cats. My informal survey shows that male orange cats make the best pets and most act like dogs! So Nick chose the right one for you. Enjoy him. My orange cat does searches on my computer through the night.
I agree! He totally acts like a dog . . . I hope your cat isn’t spending a bunch of money on-line shopping
aahhhh, what a cutie he is, adorable