By Elaine Carlson

Ye Gads. The cat is pestering me for food. I look at my watch and see it is one minute to seven in the morning. I know I am late. So yes, Little Girl, I will feed you.

I go to the cupboard and take out the cat food. I put some into her bowl and fill her other bowl with water. Now she is all set.

When I first got her I decided I would feed her two times a day --- in the morning between 6 and 7 and again in the evening between 6 and 7. I don't like to use the word strict but I was sure I wanted to only feed her at those two times. I also decide each time I will feed her two shot glasses of cat food. I bought one shot glass especially for her feeding routine.

Right at the beginning the Little Girl lets me know she didn't approve of my schedule. She knows when she wants to eat, and she will let me know. I used to put her outside when she would start to beg for food too early. And I would not let her back in until 6 o'clock.

I couldn't keep up that routine. It wasn't long before I would sometimes give up and feed her when she wanted to eat. I soon realized that when I gave her the food early ---- like at 3:30 AM and also a few times as early as 1 AM --- she would approach me at 6 AM to ask for food. Obviously while I was putting so much effort into only feeding her at the proper times she learned about the 6 o'clock feeding.

She knows how to get my attention. And when she wants food she just won't let up. Once I talked to a vet about a previous cat I had who used to beg for food. He said, "That is learned behavior." I think he was referring to the cat. But I am sure I am always the one with the learned behavior.

But I don't think I need to complain. She is a good cat and I am lucky to have her. Except when she wants to eat she has the nicest, most pleasant personality. And she is only insistent (or demanding) on this one issue. If only people could be satisfied with such little effort.

The Little Girl is how I sometimes refer to her but her name is Clara. She is a rescue cat my husband Brad and I brought home from Lake Roberts on Thanksgiving Day in 2010.

We went to Breathe Inn for our Holiday Meal (now it is Little Toad Creek). Just after we started our drive back to Silver City we got a flat tire. Brad was outside of the car putting on the spare when the Little Girl went up to him and walked around his legs.

As he opened the car door and let her hop in he said. "We are taking the cat home with us." He also told me she would be my cat because he already had one. I named her after the dancer in the Nutcracker Ballet. Because we got her on Thanksgiving I thought it would be fitting to give her a Christmas name.

A homeowner came out and talked to Brad. She said a man had driven up. Just after he stopped and let three cats out of the car he turned around and drove back. I couldn't help wondering what did his kids do? We looked around but we didn't see the other two cats.

Before my husband said he will never shop on Black Friday. Well the next day, the day after Thanksgiving, Brad went to Walmart to get cat supplies. He came back with cat food, a bowl for food and an automatic water dispenser as well as a floor mat for me to place the food bowl and the water,. Clara and I were all set. .

On the first several days I tried to keep her inside because I was afraid she night try to go back to where she used to live. I knew such a return would have been easy for her if she had lived in Silver City. I always suspected that man headed to our our city after he dumped those three cats at Lake Roberts.

I wasn't able to keep her in the house. She was always sneaking outside and she loved to run. But I soon learned I had nothing to worry about. She always came back. I was glad she liked it here and wanted to make this place her home.

I was never concerned that she was a sick cat but I thought it would be a good idea to have her checked by a vet. On Tuesday Brad and I took her to a local vet. He already had a cat carrier so in the morning I stuffed her into it and took her out to the car.

The Little Girl wasn't all that pleased with the confinement and the drive. After we were seated in the room waiting to see the vet she made a lot of noises. We were lucky because it didn't take long for the vet to come in to see us..

She picked up the cat and gave her what looked like a thorough checkup --- she looked inside her mouth, into her ears and into her eyes. For the last step in the examination she turned her over and looked at her underside.

"Yes I don't see it," she said as she appeared to be using two fingers to separate part of the skin. "Yes. It is a female."

I was pleased with myself for figuring out what "it" was. I don't know why but I always assumed the cat was a female. But I was glad the vet gave me that official declaration she was a female. It was nice I didn't have to decide on a new name (Clarence?).

Now the four of us ---- me, Brad, Clara and Emily (Brad's cat) are living a good life together. Yes life is good.