who's the most cutest kitty-witty in the world? #2

Jacob was the big newsmaker at the cattery last night. The first week I volunteered, he was just two milky eyes peering despondently out of his cave-like kitty bed. Two weeks and one extracted abscessed tooth later, he was a new man.

Yes, he was still an elderly, six-pound handful of bones, the frail neighbor whom you sometimes hesitate to talk to because you’re afraid he might die right there on your porch, but who, if you stick it out, tells great (if slightly rambling) stories in a soft, soothing voice. The reborn Jacob hung out on various kitty condos, squirmed good-naturedly while getting his IV and made kissy-faces at the much younger Daisy, who was more interested in napping.

But the best news of all is that Jacob has found a home with a couple who adopt elderly cat after elderly cat (and are therefore going straight to heaven, as far as I’m concerned). Since this disqualifies him from being this week’s official Most Cutest Kitty-Witty In The World, I present PeeWee (above):

“PeeWee’s a nice cat,” said my fellow volunteer, Amy, “but I’m not always sure he has a lot going on upstairs.”

She said this as PeeWee stood in the doorway of his cage, five minutes into a very difficult decision about whether to go out or stay in. But as someone who sometimes has trouble being decisive myself, I don’t think it’s fair to assume this is indicative of a lack of intelligence.

PeeWee is not a newsmaker. He’s a friendly white-and-tabby with funky markings on his nose and mouth. He’s the kind of guy who likes to watch TV and drink beer, but would never drink too much or tell his wife to get him another. He’s the boyfriend of your craziest friend, the one you’re glad she finally settled down with after many bad choices. Sure, he won’t help her make a grand entrance at her high school reunion, but when she discovers she has a flat in the parking lot afterward, he will roll up the sleeves of his dress shirt and change it without swearing. He will tell her she looks beautiful in her slightly-too-tight dress, and he will mean it.