Share Your Passion: Account Relations Coordinator Eric on being a Cat Dad

My name is Eric Silva and I am a CCD. For the uninitiated that stands for Crazy Cat Dad.

I’ve been a fan of the animal kingdom for a long time. Growing up, we always had a family pet. Mainly dogs of the small variety, and don’t get me wrong … dogs are AWESOME. But everyone on earth knows how cool dogs are. Dogs are excited to see you all the time, they actually obey commands like “sit,” “stay,” and “make me pancakes” plus they do their business outside on the lawns of the neighbors that you hate and that is pretty cool. However, I’ve come to learn that cats are pretty great too.

My appreciation for the feline species started when my mom, sister, and I came across some tiny little kittens in our backyard making an awful noise. They were so small they could barely stand on their own; these disgusting looking creatures appeared to have just been born. After spending an eternity using AOL to search for an answer to “what do you do with newborn kittens,” we found that we were supposed to just let them be until mama kitty came back. Sadly, mama kitty dropped off the kids and split! After a few hours we realized we had to do something with these kittens. We bottle fed four new born kittens, made a little “cat shack” for them to stay warm in, and became the new home of the crazy cat people. We went from a single cat, two dog home to a four cat, two dog farmhouse. From that point on my love for these clawed companions was born.

Cats are pretty awesome and I can prove it through fun facts! Did you know that Abraham Lincoln had four cats in the White House? Maybe you weren’t aware that cats can’t taste things that are sweet? How about that cats spend ⅔ of their life sleeping and ignoring you? Also my cats can run faster than Usain Bolt! Not impressed yet, keep reading to be converted into a cat person!

About four years ago my girlfriend, Madison (crazy cat lady), and I made a commitment to each other…to get an animal that would hate us and want to kill us in our sleep. So we decided to adopt Lou from some family friends. Having Lou as a part of our family has been really exciting (and entertaining). We never know when he is going to throw up on our floor, scratch us for trying to show him affection, or when he is going to run around our apartment knocking various keepsakes from shelves and breaking memories of the past to forge new stories about why we no longer have a coffee table.

Along with all the misery he brings, he is also pretty funny. For instance, he sleeps in funny positions (which make for great Instagram photos!) and he will chase a laser pointer for about 3 minutes which can lead to some pretty great cat videos. When Lou was younger he would help out with some daily activities like turning off the lights and he actually played fetch … one time! Pretty impressive right?! All of that wasn’t enough for me. I had a case of cat scratch fever (I was hospitalized for 15 days) and knew that a one cat household wasn’t going to work.

I realized we needed an animal that didn’t hate us as much as Lou so I went back to my cat rescue roots and happened upon a great looking stray kitten that was wandering around the backyard of my new apartment. He was super friendly and seemed to be in need of a loving home. He was so friendly he just let himself into our house! (No, seriously, this cat just walked in) It was amazing, I finally had the kind of cat I wanted! He was really loving, just wanting to be petted, and was happy to have a home and a bowl of food. Lou didn’t give Cliff a warm homecoming, but Lou eventually learned that Cliff wasn’t going to leave no matter how many times he sat on him. Everything was going swimmingly for our new family … “was” being the operative word.

I quickly learned that having a cat who actually loves you is awesome and terrible. Cliff in all his lovingness wakes the whole house up at 3 AM every night a variety of ways. His favorite is to meow with increasing volume until you wake up. Once you are awake he then continues to make noise at you, jumps into bed and lays butt-to-face and releases terrible kitty toxins upon you. Don’t you dare try to sleep through his meows because he will then take it upon himself to wake you up with sandpaper tongue kisses all over your face. You would assume that having a cat who runs to the front door to greet you would be adorable. WRONG. Enjoy falling over your furry friend while you are lugging your groceries, all because he cannot wait for you to enter the house before wrapping himself around your legs. It would be nice to be able to get some privacy in the shower but those days are gone since Cliff has moved in, there is nothing like washing your hair with two beady eyes staring at you. It’s terrifying.

Now our house is divided by a cat who can’t wait for us to sleep because that means we won’t pay attention to him and another who won’t let us sleep for fear of not being shown attention. It is maddening, adorable, frustrating and entertaining. Would owning just one happy dog be any better? Most people would say yes. However, I enjoy the challenges of cleaning a box of sand filled with cat turds, trying to protect my couch from being used as a scratching post and trying to get a good night of sleep. I’m still excited to go home to my furry family to see what new glasses they have broken and that is what makes me a crazy cat dad. #catpassion #catdad #catpurrrson

Written by Eric Silva, the face of customer service in our tasting room; Crazy Cat Dad; Cat Fancy subscription holder; Youtube cat video enthusiast; high handicap golfer and poor dancer.

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