My Kitty has a Shoe Fetish!

Any of you have a pet that is obsessed with your personal belongings?  Particularly, things that have your "scent" on them?  Well, my cat LOVES all things that belong to me.  When I change my clothes, where ever I throw what I was wearing (yes I throw my clothes) my cat wants to lay on it.  Even if they are socks that I've worn for 12 hours.  Her favorite all-time of any of my possessions though, are my shoes.   My cat loves my shoes.  First you should know that she thinks I'm her Mommy.  I got her as a leftover free kitten that had become a semi-stray.  My best friend told me that there had been a whole litter of kittens, born to the neighbor's cat who has not been spayed and is allowed to roam outdoors freely.  My BFF told me that these neighbors had a sign up for quite a while advertising these "free" kittens.  After the sign came down, the remaining kittens were left to fend for themselves, apparently.  My sweet little kitty was trying to eat my friend's cat's food.  Poor thing, she was skinny and covered in fleas.  But enough about her humble beginnings.  I am her "Mommy" and she adores me above all members of the household.  She follows me around, sleeps on my bed, and will sleep on me.  As a cat owner knows, there are many affectionate, loyal kitties--even though dog owners would have you believe that only dogs can truly show love.

My shoes are my cat's pillow, her mattress, and teddy bear all wrapped in one.  She sometimes rests her head on my shoe.  She sometimes covers my shoe with her entire body.  An adorable pose is when she gives the shoe a hug--wraps both her front legs around and settles in for a nap.  The most hilarious is when she sticks her nose in my shoe and goes to sleep.  I don't know how she breathes--and I'm not saying my feet stink.  Well, maybe they do, I can't say for sure, but I just don't see how she can get enough oxygen with the front half of her head in an enclosed area.  The type of foot apparel matters not--she will nap on flip-flops, sneakers, my work shoes, boots, or my 4-inch heels.  Once I saw her nap on my son's flip-flops--but I had borrowed them earlier.  At first I though she was just attracted to my leather and suede shoes, as she would go up to them and repeatedly rub her cheeks all over them, but soon realized she gave the same treatment to fabric and man-made materials. 

Today she was satisfied with my socks.  Realize that she could have dragged herself another 18 inches and sat on my lap--but after all she is a cat still endowed with a genuine feline attitude.  Later she thought the bird playground was better suited, but in my defense the bird stand is on the porch and kitties love to be on the porch.  If I decided to become eternally barefoot I'm sure she would be lost.  She hasn't always had this "shoe fetish" however it may be linked to the addition of several other pets to the household, and my snobby princess may simply be trying to assert her leadership by applying her scent to everything mine, just in case any other occupants don't remember that I belong to her.  So, all of my shoes are covered in cat hair, but, what's the difference?  When you own a cat, usually EVERYTHING is covered in cat hair.  :-)

I love my kitties but I plan to make the next few posts about our fine feathered friends!  Birds next!