CAT WOMAN WEDNESDAY: Katie the Fashionista

 

Today’s Cat Woman Wednesday is Katie Fazio, the woman who “spotted” me and Emily (from Purina) at SXSW while we were eating from food trucks, and complemented us on our “style.”

You could have knocked us over with a feather! Of course we proceeded to befriend follow this adorable, dressed-perfectly-for-Austin-stranger, and ended up learning that she’s a stylist from Chi-town with a cat to boot!

 

Like any good cat Mom, at the mention of her cat, she whipped out her iPhone and shared pictures of her Little Meow (aka Meow)! Who, PS, isn’t that little! 

Katie has a business called”Katie Keeps it Simple” where she provides services from full wardrobe overhauls (I wonder if she’d make a special trip to NYC?!), gives tips on making the most of what’s currently in your closet, and she even styles brides and grooms for their big day! 

Her passion is,”helping others find their personal style”. You can visit her site for examples of her work, or visit her blog for her latest tips! 

 

BUT, what we’re really here for today is to hear how Katie, someone who’d never grown up with a cat, ended up with “Little” Meow, and what it was like for her to own a cat for the first time ever. 

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Three years ago I adopted Little Meow from my cousins in Florida. They needed to give Meow a better home for personal reasons. It was a bit of a rough start for the first two months. Meow lived behind my oven and refused to come out during the day.

 

Even when the oven was at 300° plus he’d stay there with his little paws sticking out crying because it was getting too hot back there. Eventually I did succeed in getting him out from there in a rather unconventional way.

One day I noticed my apartment smelled like gas. I called the local gas company and they came by my apartment to check out my stove. After an inspection, they told me they’d have to move the oven away from the wall and check the gas line. My response, “That’s fine, but just so you know, there is a cat back there.”

 

The gas guys gave me a funny look and slowly started to pull out the oven. Meow realized what was happening and was so freaked out he sprinted towards the front door in hopes of escape, but when he realized it was closed he sprinted back through the apartment and hid under my bed – for the next several weeks. So close but yet so far!

I had an idea for getting him to come-out from under the bed during the day… tuna! I put some in a bowl while I hid in the closet near the kitchen and watched. It worked! He slowly crept-out to eat, and before he knew what hit him it, I threw open the closet door and turned on the light!

 

Meow froze and looked like he was about to say, “Okay lady, you got me. Now what?” After that event he started to come out when I was around and would even hop-up on the couch to sit next to me!

 

I’d grown up a dog person and didn’t understand cats. It was only after I got one that I realized what wonderful and loving animals they are. Meow may not always want to be held or cuddle with me, but it’s the best feeling to walk in the door and be greeted by such a sweet little face, or to wake up next to that bundle of fur.

 

At first, I didn’t really know what I was doing given my lack of feline experiences. One weekend I went away for a few days, and when I came back I found little cat claws on my couch. I freaked out thinking Meow was so stressed in my absence he’d ripped out his own claws! That goodness for Google – cats shed their nails. Phew, I had a lot to learn!

One of the best things about Meow are his cute little cross-eyes. They’re a beautiful light blue and it makes me laugh when he tries to focus on me because it’s hard to tell which way he’s looking!

 

I also think it’s hilarious that cats choose the most random times of the day to sprint through the apartment as if it’s the Indy 500. Does anyone else’s cat quickly leave the litter box and sprint to another location after using it? It’s like there’s a bomb about to go off and he’s running to escape it!

My cousin had told me Meow preferred hanging out with women over men, and I quickly realized that anytime a guy came over, Meow was out of sight for the evening. But if one of my girlfriends came over, Meow would investigate and maybe even brush up against one of their legs. He is most definitely a ladies man!

 

My friend Jen, who lives in my building, often watches Meow while I’m away. She’s never owned a cat, so she asked me to describe what his different postures mean so she knows if Meow is upset and about to pounce, or happy and ready to be fed. It’s funny how we can take our knowledge of “cat language” for granted.

The latest saga with Meow is that he’s started waking me up in the morning to be fed. Except instead of just crying in my face, he quietly jumps-up on the bed and proceeds to use my body as a set of hurdles, jumping across the bed until I’m forced to get up.

 

I bought an automatic feeder, but he soon figured out what time it was supposed to go off and would get me up just before it did!

Regardless of his kitty’s antics, I love him to pieces. He’s becoming more of a cuddle buddy and I am so happy I adopted him!

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I think Meow made off pretty well in the end. Thankfully Katie seems like the patient type (I guess you have to if you work with brides!).

Can anyone else relate to the trials and tribulations of living with a cat for the first time? I am pretty sure Petie spent at least 2-3 weeks under my bed when he first got here. I had no clue what those weird clear pointy things were (nails that had shed), and when I first saw a whisker – let’s just say that TOTALLY took me by surprise. I didn’t know those came out! 

Any others you can think of?