Gizmo and the Geek - a man and his cat

Now it could just be that I've never been a grown-up who owns a cat, but in all of my childhood and of all the cats we owned, never did I see a cat like ours.

In the hot summer of 2007, just after we bought our house, we had a rash of kittens in the alley that runs behind our house. I had heard them mewing and so had the Geek. His Spidey senses told him that trouble was on the horizon. Me being a sucker for cuteness, I could not resist when I saw a tiny little fuzzball cleaning himself in a sunspot. On my way to pick the Geek up from work, I picked him up and stuck him in my lap. Fleas and whatever else be danged! As soon as I reached the Geek's office I switched to the passenger side and put that little ball of fuzz in my purse.

The Geek protested at having to drive home, but I said I couldn't do it. When pressed, I let that cute fuzzy head poke out of my purse.

"No way! We are not keeping it!" He shouted, but already the cuteness had begun to work it's magic. He kept up the protests saying how it was going back in the alley as soon as we got home, or how we'd find it another home. Then when I commented how the kitten's ears were bigger than his head and he looked like Gizmo from the Gremlins, he protested again, shouting now I had named it and we'd never get rid of it. I could see that his defenses were weakening.

I borrowed a litter box from a friend and took him to the vet. Fleas, ear mites, the works! You name it, he had it. So much for the free kitten theory. A weird polyp started to grow in his ear later (which we had removed when he was neutered - $200 bucks, yipe!!) and he now has a permanent head tilt from that, giving him a crazed look.

But try as the Geek might, that cat was here to stay. In spite of his allergies (which disappeared with the owning of a cat) and protests. Now the cat is his cat. He follows him around with a 'prrwaw', just like a puppy whenever the Geek leaves the room. They snuggle in the morning and there is a (well used!) cat bed on the Geek's desk. I am the heavy and make him mind, but the Geek and his cat are the notorious pair. Here's some evidence:

(This is how they sleep - feel free to roll your eyes and say "Good Grief!" I know I do.)