beware of cat

My parents have a fat cat named Ellie.  She started out thin, but she is no longer that way.

My sister Jean rescued Ellie from an animal shelter about four years ago and my parents adopted her.  She follows my mother around like a loyal dog. 

When my mom returns from being out, Ellie is always waiting at the door.  If my mom doesn’t enter the house fast enough, Ellie cries until she does.  When my mom is putting on makeup, Ellie sits on the sink and watches.  When my mom is sitting in a chair, Ellie jumps up and nestles into her lap.  She is a friendly cat.  Unlike my sister Jean’s two cats who roam her house unnoticed and uninvolved, Ellie needs to be with people.  Wherever there is activity, that’s where Ellie can be found.

But Ellie has a crazy side.  If you pet her the wrong way, she bites and hisses, but only once.  And then she cowers.   We imagine she is saying to herself, “I can’t believe I did that again.  I am so ashamed.”  She just can’t help it.  When guests come over, we need to warn them. 

But most of the time Ellie is a very sweet cat.