The Land of Discontented Cats

I am a cat lover and have been my entire life. I grew up in a house where we always had one or two cats around and always found them to be extraordinary companions. They always seemed to know when I was sick or not feeling well, or knew when I was depressed or injured and in general just needed comforting. There is nothing I know of more soothing than having a purring cat on your lap or lying next to you in bed. I was lucky to always have affectionate cats who were more than happy to cuddle or lap sit or just be there when I needed them. Since I moved out on my own some years ago, I haven't had any pets because where I live, I'm not allowed any. As a result, I terribly miss having a cat around to comfort me or to keep me company. This past week I have been living back at the old homestead due to construction of a new bathroom in my tiny apartment, and my mom has a cat, but he's a rather antisocial creature who prefers not to be touched or even so much as spoken to. However, my mom has neighbors immediately next to her on the north and south sides of her house whose cats, while well fed, are desperate for human affection, and when they see me outside, they come running because they know that I will shower them with much affection. One even boldly comes into my mom's house via the cat door down in the basement, a beautiful and affectionate brown tabby named Herman. I happen to be very partial to brown tabby coloring because we had quite a few brown tabbies when I was growing up and I always thought it was a really pretty coloring. Most of them have little pink noses, soft velvety black paws and tawny underbellies, and of course, the unmistakeable "M" on the forehead. Some are green eyed, some are golden eyed, but they all have beautiful faces. Herman just makes me melt at the sight of his tawny tabby beauty. For a male cat, he's not terribly big, but he's a sturdy little cat. He's got a most peculiar meow, more like a rather shrill and demanding holler than anything else. That's what is so weird about him, but other than that, his affectionate nature and beautiful coloring have me under his spell. I am so cat starved that being here at my mom's is more than fulfilling my cat fix. The other cat that I can't resist is a pure black cat with big golden eyes that my nieces have named "Satine" because he looks like satin. He lives on the north side of my mom's house and his caretakers don't let him in their house due to their dogs, meaning he's forced to stay out in the cold even on the most bitter nights. It drives me crazy that both Herman and Satine are being so neglected by their people that they come over to my mom's just to get attention. I wish my mom could adopt them but her cat Dupree is very territorial and as a result, hers is a one cat house. Sometimes Dupree will grudgingly tolerate Herman's presence in the house, but many times, he will arch his back, spit and hiss, distinctly expressing his distaste for sharing his terrain with another cat. If I could adopt both of these beautiful and affectionate cats, I would, but until I have a nice house on a quiet street where cats could go outside without fear of being run over by a car, I don't think I would want to have a cat because they need to be able to go outside and do what cats do, hunt and skulk around and sit in sunny places and other cat habits. Maybe someday I'll be able to do that, but until then, I guess I'll just have to get my cat fix at my mom's house, with her cat and the two discontented cats who'd rather live with her than their owners.