Tuesday, March 12, 2013

SWEET BIPPY


Way back when the world was still black and white, DH and I got married.

Then we got a cat. I don’t know why, we just did.  She was a Siamese and we called her Bippy as in, “You bet your sweet bippy.”  Well, we called her that but, although she had amazingly keen hearing, she never answered to her name.

We lived in a cinder-brick duplex on a very busy street so we didn’t dare let our cat outside.  We got the great idea of putting a little dog harness on her so we could take her for walks.  Her reaction was to immediately lie down in the gutter and stay there.  Even when we dragged her she wouldn’t get up.  This was great entertainment for our neighbors.  DH said it was too bad the couple in the other side of the duplex didn’t have a cat too so we could have drag races.

No, our neighbors had a scruffy little dog named Muffin.  They let him run around in our back yard.  When we turned Bippy loose back there she beat up Muffin.  So we had put on her harness and tie her leash on to the clothesline so she could run up and down but not beat up the dog.

Sometimes she escaped out the front door.  She would only do this when we were in our pajamas so we would have to chase her across the busy street and all over the nearby golf course.  She loved watching DH running around wearing his plaid p.j. pants on the driving range in the dark screaming, “Bippy! Bippy!”  She was evil but she had a sense of humor.

Anything on the floor was her cat toy.  Anything not on the floor yet would soon be there.  I had a fish bowl terrarium filled with cactus we got as a souvenir from the Grand Canyon.  While we were at work she would paw out the little round cactus and roll them all over the carpet making certain to leave them where bare feet could find them

She expected to be fed as soon as the eastern sky began to get light.  She had no snooze button. When we went to the bathroom she’d poke her paws under the door.  Since I had nothing better to do while I was sitting there I’d unroll a hunk of toilet paper and let her grab for it.  Sometimes this game went on long after I’d flushed.  We were both easily entertained. 

She never let us to forget she was a descendant of Egyptian gods. She allowed us to amuse her as long as we kept her water clean and her food fresh. She only used her litter box when we sat down to eat. When DH was drafted into the army during the Vietnam War and I was finally able to join him at Ft. Lewis, Washington, Bippy became queen in residence on my parents’ dairy farm.  Their barn cats never forgave me.

14 comments:

Anzu said...

I enjoyed your husband's funny episode with your tricky & cool cat 凸(^▼ェ▼メ^) of your happy newly-married days. d(゚-^*)

Each cats might give our life some vivid colors.

Carla said...

Fabulous story, fabulous cat!! :)

rebecca said...

One day I'll get a cat. Hopefully not a super crazy one, though I do love a good crazy cat story.

Florida Farm Girl said...

OMG, how funny!!!! Sounds like a wonderful feline companion.

Anairam said...

I am not so crazy about cats, but your cat sounds like quite a cat! There is a young cat in our street who enjoyed teasing Snous. She would prance up and down on the wall next to our house and Snous (on the inside, without access to the lefthand side of our yard) would go ballistic and throw herself against the window, barking her head off. Then the cat would just look at her - a long, cool look, and then she would turn around and saunter off. Well. One day the cat ventured to the right-hand side of our house - on the wall - Snous saw her through the window and she shot through her little dog-flap like a bullet and CHARGED. Cat fell off the wall, into the ferns, with Snous in pursuit. Cat just managed to make it into tree, Snous almost got the tail. Then cat sat there crying for a bit until I took Snous inside and closed the dog-flap. Eventually cat got out of tree, scrambled over the top of the. We (and Snous) never saw her again. Actually, I do sometimes see her on the wall of her owners' house ...
PS Sorry about the verification. Did not even know it was an inkblot type thingie - blogger does not offer any choice in the settings. I thought I had switched off the verification long ago! But I have switched it off now again - won't you please test it for me by placing a short comment, and let ne know if it is still causing problems?

Alica said...

I can just imagine Bippy taking over the farm cats' pecking order. There can only be one "god"!

Anonymous said...

All cats are royalty...or at least..they THINK they are.

Leenie said...

Alica: I don't think Bippy ever soiled her paws by joining the cats in the barn. She made her own place in the order of house cats, but she relished her new outdoor freedom and put the dog in his place.

Joanne Noragon said...

I love Bippy. She was pure cat. Nothing less would do.

Sarah said...

Bippy sounds like a marvellous cat! They all have such distinct personalities-as much as any person!

Maude Lynn said...

Siamese have the most amazing personalities!

Val said...

I'm not quite sure how you got Bippy to pose for that photo...but she looks a bit put-out. Like maybe she got wind of the barn plan.

Ann Simiskey said...

I showed your picture of grandpa to all the kids and asked them who it was. They all wanted to know if uncle bob got a cat.

Terry and Linda said...

WHAT a great post! Life is just not complete without animals...any animal!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlifewordpress.com