You’ve heard of Morris, the cat from those 9Lives cat’s commercials?

Of course you’ve heard of Garfield, a fat lasagna loving cat from the comics. Come on, get real, what cats will eat lasagna. Garfield will sleep all days and get into mischief by doing such things as pushed Odie off the table.

Then there is Grumpy the Cat!

You may asked, “what do these cats have in common? What’s your point here?”

We all know that they all are famous. But do you know that they are/were high maintenance as well?

As you may or may have heard that Grumpy the cat had passed away last year. When I think of Grumpy the cat, I think of my cat, Tabitha.

Now Tabitha could had very easily filled in for Grumpy the Cat because of her diva-like personality.

Before I talked about Tabitha, I wants to mention my other cat, Snowball.

Now Snowball was total opposite of Tabitha. He was big white cat and very passive. He was abused by his previous owner; so he was scared and hid under the bed; yet he warmed up to me. He would love to sleep with me and even lay on my chest and kissed me. He loved giving kisses. He also loved looking at himself in the mirror, whenever I held him in my arms so he could look in the mirror. He would curled up right in my arms. I had to wear a shirt; otherwise he would had clawed me, not meaning to.

Now I had Snowball a few years before I got Tabitha. Snowball was happy to have a playmate to play with when I was at work. Tabitha, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with him at first. It wasn’t until she realized that she could be the boss, that they finally became the best of friends.

Let me explained the meaning behind Tabitha’s name. Her name fit her because of her personality and the spot she had on her nose. She looked and acted like a Tabitha. She was a Diva. Thus a high maintenance cat; compared to Snowball. When others would see Tabitha, they couldn’t understand what I mean about her being a diva. They would say, “She’s so precious.” So her full name became Tabitha Precious Heger; while Snowball’s full name was Snowball Baby Heger. Tabitha was a diva, and the middle name, Precious came about because of the character from the Lord of the Rings, that was obsessed with the ring that he called it, “Precious.” Just think about it when you put Tabitha Precious name together.

Snowball and Tabitha eventually became buddies. They would play together and even sleep together. Let me put it this way: I got Tabitha fixed just in time; otherwise I would had little their kittens driving me up the wall. They may had been cute; but they could also had been a terror.

When it came to sleeping with me, Snowball would sleep by my head and Tabitha by my feet; making it difficult for me move in bed.

Like I said, they played together by chasing each others around the apartment. They would even kissed each others. One time, Snowball was sitting on top of the scratching post and Tabitha was inside; and they were playing with each other.

Usually, cats are able to regulate their foods compared to dogs. But not Tabitha! After she was fixed, she became plump like Garfield. I had to put her on a diet. believe me, that was hard because of Snowball. With Snowball, I could leave the food out with no problems. I couldn’t do that anymore.

Like I said, Snowball loves receiving and giving kisses; whereas Tabitha hated kisses. She would give even the evil eye, as though she was saying, “don’t kiss me.” Believe me, as precious as she was, you wanted to kiss her. That was her diva-like personality.

Snowball lived to be 18 years old. I ended up putting him down; even though he fought to hold on for me and for his girlfriend, Tabitha; even though he knew his time on earth was up. But even after his death, his spirit was still in the apartment watching over Tabitha and I. His spirit would even chased Tabitha around in the dark.

I remembered one time a bird had hit the balcony window; so I went outside to check on the bird. Tabitha followed me outside and went up to the bird and pawed it as if to say, “What’s this?” I thought to myself, if Snowball would had seen the bird, he would probably had ate it. All because he was born on a farm and she wasn’t.

Since she was small compared to him, I swear she would coaxed him to tipped over the kitchen garbage, because she couldn’t do it herself.

When it came to disciplining them, it was easier to discipline Snowball. Since he loved attention, kisses and sleeping with me; all I had to do when he misbehave was not let him sleep with me. Tabitha, on the other hand, was hard to discipline. She looks at me as if saying, “I’ll do as I want, I’m a Diva and you can’t do anything about it.” I had a plaque that read, “My cat lets me live here.” That’s sums up Tabitha!

Another thing, Tabitha had a pet bed in which she loved sleeping in. I put the pet bet on top of my trunk, so she could look outside easier. When she laid in the pet bed, it was like she was on her throne, like the Diva cat she was.

Tabitha died in her sleep last fall; much as the same way as Grumpy the Cat.

Some people would think that cats and dogs aren’t really smart. They don’t have that kind of personality as humans. I’m here to tell you, they too can be high maintenance. They can be diva as well. Even some dogs can be diva.

One year for Halloween, I bought Tabitha a devil costume and put it on her. She didn’t like it; but the costume fit her personality. She was a Diva and at times a devil. She was a terror. She loved to dig on the carpet. Even though she was always getting into mischief she had me wrapped around her paws.

Don’t judge people who treats their pets as kids and part of the family. Dogs and cats are good companions; even though at times they can also be lots of work as well. Just like raising kids. You love your kids and you love your pets.

Even though Snowball and Tabitha are both gone now; I missed them, but I’m taking a break from having a cat or even a dog. They are a lot of works; just like kids. When kids grow up and leave the nest, it may be hard to deal with; but at the same time, it’s a relief. It doesn’t mean that you don’t love your kids any less.