Das Bo

Our cat, Garrett, is a long haired red tabby whose parents were related, so in addition to short, stumpy legs he’s also not quite right in the head. Garrett was born in July of 2007, the year my favorite baseball team, the Colorado Rockies went to the World Series. Even if they hadn’t gone to the World Series, I still would have named my kitten after the 3rd baseman. I’m not sure about the baseball player, but our Garrett likes to sleep upside down.

Garrett Buckley W is a cat of many names, including, but certainly not limited to:

GaryG-Unit
Gare-Gare
Gare-bo
Bo
Das Bo
Bovine
Garrett Garrett the ferret
Garbanzo Bean
And the list goes on. We also call him the Goldfish because his memory only lasts about 3 seconds, at best.

Garrett is really a friendly cat, he loves being held and cuddled and pet, he’s even fairly social, as far as cats go, but for the first few months there was some confusion regarding who I was.

Garrett loves mornings as much as I do, we’d wake up early and cuddle, he’d watch birds out the window while I watched the news, we’d share breakfast (he loves cinnamon rolls) and then I’d leave for work. On occasion, I’d forget something in the house and have to run back in quickly to retrieve it. Having only been gone a matter of seconds, I was disappointed when he would run and hide when I came back inside. Upon returning home in the evening, he had no idea who I was and would hide for as long as a few hours. We’d make friends again and cuddle at bed time and start again the next day. Eventually, something clicked and he began to remember me.

When hubby and I were dating, Garrett would snuggle up on the sofa with us while we watched TV; he took to hubby, to the point of becoming annoying at times, but never could remember him after any amount of separation. If hubby left to use the bathroom during a commercial break, upon his return, Garry’s eyes would go as big as baseballs and he’d puff up and run to the nearest hiding place. Eventually, he’d remember how nice it was in our laps and things would be ok until hubby left the room again. Garrett’s short-term memory made it hard for him and hubby to bond, since hubby is gone more than he’s home, at that point, months at a time.

Hubby and I were dating very seriously (as a matter of fact, he proposed shortly after this incident… Despite this incident!) when I asked him to take Garrett to the vet. Poor G had ear mites and my work schedule was such that I couldn’t take him right away. Hubby was home on leave and had a fairly open schedule so he made an appointment.

The day of the vet visit, hubby, Gary and I loaded up into Iron Hide (My truck, no, hubby didn’t name it, I did); hubby would drop me off at work and then continue on with G to the vet, only a mile away from my office.

Garrett doesn’t “do” cat carriers. He rides loose in the cab of the truck. Before this day, he had made many 2 hour trips in the past that way, and since then has even made 3 8-hour drives. No problems. Ever. (Side note: The picture is Garrett riding on the headrest on one of the said 8 hour drives. Our 2 large, unruley dogs were in the back seat at the time. No peeing. No pooping.)

Hubby dropped me off at work and he and Gary started towards the vet’s office. Garrett suddenly decided that he was uncomfortable in the truck, and no longer trusted hubby, he started howling and hid underneath the driver’s seat. Hubby heard a strange squishing sound, followed by the distinct smell of cat pee. And poop.

Hubby threatened to throw Garbanzo in the river on the way home, but he didn’t follow through with that. Hubby proposed, Bonzo’s ear mites went away, and so did hubby for a few months for more training.

When hubby finished Air Borne school, I was excited to have him home again, Gare wasn’t so much. The first day he was home, we didn’t even see the Bo. The next morning though he was friendly as ever and followed me around while I got ready for work. Hubby kissed me goodbye at the door and went back inside.

When I got home from work that evening, Garry as always, ran to the door to meet me. Hubby was surprised, claiming to have not seen him since that morning, when he was in the bathroom. The door was slightly ajar and the way hubby tells it, Garrett walked by the door, stopped at the opening and puffed himself up, let out a growl too big for a small orange cat, a with a hiss he ran and hid in the closet and didn’t come out until he heard my keys in the door.

We’ve had no such problems since then; Garrett must have finally realized that hubby is with us for the long haul.

A few interesting facts about Das Bo:

Tricks known: 3, sit, speak and roll over. He learned those tricks using cheese as bait.
Favorite Food: Garrett is not a picky eater, but his favorites are cheese, ice cream and bread. He also enjoys scrambled eggs but not if they’re too soggy.
Wardrobe: He owns 3 ties and actually quite enjoys wearing them for special occasions or company.
Favorite time of the day: Cuddle time, or 9pm, right before bed. As soon as hubby and I start heading upstairs, Gare rushes to jump on the bed and get a prime snuggling spot. We usually have to kick him out of the room because he purrs so loud. Then he keeps us up trying to get our door open. Gare always wins.
Favorite game: Garret plays “Put the Gary in the coconut and twist him all up” with hubby, who just spins Gare around in circles on the laminate floor singing the name of the game. You would think this was not a fun game, but Gary always comes right back for more.