Tortoiseshell Cat Stares Down Inner Demons

Clever pun, huh? Do you see the demons inside, staring out the door? Five—count ’em, five—dark solemn beings with pale eyes all staring directly at Cookie?

They don’t bother Cookie because she has Tortitude. Ask anyone who’s ever lived with a tortoiseshell cat, or any tri-color for that matter. She is 19, the kids are 3, Mimi is about 6. Cookie weighs about 8 pounds, together the black cats weigh over 50. I open the door and she walks right in between them as if they don’t exist.

Cookie has seen many cats come and go, and as far as she is concerned, this group of five is just another bunch of cats with whom she shares me. She is not impressed with the fact that they are all black. After all, she gets to go outside with me every morning and sometimes during the day, and she gets first dibs on my lap and my attention.

But the four siblings, here joined by their mom, are at it again as a group. How sweet it is.