Your Resident Single Friend: Bow Ties for Cats

There's a scene in the sort of biopic Bohemian Rhapsody that I love as much as I love the concert scenes and any scene involving the band being musical geniuses (which is basically why you should go see the movie - it's not the best biography of Mercury if that's what you're looking for). Freddie (Rami Malek) is showing Queen's drummer, Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) around his new home. You can feel the pride and excitement coming from Freddie about every little thing he loves about his new home. However, it's clear that the best part of the house, the thing he is most excited about is the fact that his 10 cats each have their own room. This scene made my cat mom heart so very happy.

Mercury loved cats. Mary Austin, his girlfriend and long-time love, is the one who introduced Freddie to cats when they moved in with one another. Later on, he would add eight more cats to the mix and doted on them like children. He called them while away on tour, made sure they had stockings on Christmas, and lavished them all with attention. I've always loved Freddie Mercury, but knowing his affection for cats made me adore him. Cats make sense for a creative soul like Freddie Mercury. There's something about cats, their mystery, aloofness, and weird behavior, that makes them the perfect companion for artists.

If you'd like to buy me a present, I'd take this shirt or the mug version because I love cats, Freddie Mercury, and puns. 

Obviously, I don't have "Freddie Mercury in the heyday of Queen" kind of money, so buying a house that would allow for Keely to have his own room is not really an option. Money aside, what's charmingly eccentric on a male rock star, is seen as sadly depressing on a single woman approaching 40. People suck.

So while I'm not investing in real estate for Keely, beyond the pillow I bought him that he loves, I have done something that I think will drive home just how special he is. Let's pause for a moment to bask in Keely's handsomeness...

What a dapper gentleman! Everyone comments on how handsome he is and I think he knows it. Look at that face! That is the face of a cat who jumps on the counter even though he's not supposed to and gets away with it (because I lack a certain discipline gene). You know what would make this dapper cat even more dapper?

Bow ties.

I bought my cat holiday themed bow ties. Yes, I am that cat mom. As of today, we have a Thanksgiving bow tie, since Thanksgiving is our most elegant holiday, and a Christmas bow tie because it's our most festive holiday. Remember kids, you can find just about anything on Etsy if you look.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "Erin, is Keely really going to wear a bow tie on his collar? He barely lets you pet without careful consideration on the amount of time you've pet him and the location of said pets (ears, under the chin, occasionally on his belly)? Why would he wear a bow tie?"

I hear you. Keely is a special little dude. In our five months together, he has caused enough damage to my left leg that a person viewing my injuries might assume I'm committing some sort of self-harm. Conversely, he's also cuddled with me, provided countless hours of wondering whether I have a ghost in my apartment (he stares at certain spots in the apartment in a way that makes me believe something is there), and has put up with my incessant need to document every cute moment and his handsomeness. I remember the joy I felt the first time he jumped on my lap, unprompted, and napped for an hour. When he did the next day for two hours, it was the best. He picked me! I might not be his real mom, but I'm his human!

Do I think he will wear the bow tie on his collar? Yes, I know he will because I'm the one who will be putting it on him and he will wear it. Do I think he will like it? Absolutely not. He's a cat. Cats hate everything. But he will wear each bow tie for at least a few photos to appease me. I have earned bow tie photos.

The past five months have been an interesting experience in learning how to be cat mom again. I'm guessing I'm still on some sliding scale when it comes to trust with Keely. I don't know what his life was like before I adopted him. His first family definitely overfed him, and from the limited information the shelter had, it sounds like they wanted a lap cat and got Keely instead. He was in the shelter for a little over a month, not a long time for a shelter animal but enough time to be overlooked by many because he was an overweight, older (1.5 years) cat among a sea of kittens. Five months isn't a long time, not really. I have to patient with him and he needs to realize that mommy isn't for biting. I get to be his adoring human and he gets to be a cat.

A cat who wears bow ties.

This is what happened when I showed him the Thanksgiving bow tie. That face!