Whiskers Behind the Words: Author Connie Archer's Buster

My name is Buster.  I was born about ten years ago, give or take.  I don’t remember my early life very well but my sister Bonnie and I were adopted by a nice man named Ed.  Ed lived in a rough part of town on a tiny side street.  I was a free spirit then, young and on the prowl.  Ed always kept a window open so I could come and go whenever I wanted.  My life was good, but once a week the city garbage truck came down our tiny street and scared me to death.  I still have nightmares about those garbage trucks.  Even now, when I hear that truck, I run and hide under the bed.

I was the king of the household for a long time until one day Ed rescued two more cats from the gutter.  He named them Ivan and Ivanka.  That’s when my glorious life went right down the tubes.  Nobody, and I mean nobody, paid any attention to me anymore!  Ed and all his friends oohed and ahhed over Ivan.  I could hear them talking about how cute  he was.  It was disgusting!  What was the big deal?  I was handsome.  I was the king of the household.  I hate to admit it, but I became very jealous and tried to make Ivan’s life miserable.  It didn’t work.  I sulked.  I pouted.  I complained, but Ed didn’t pay the least bit of attention to me.

One day my human Ed died.  It was very sudden and all of us cats were very scared.  We all tried to run away, including me.  I wasn’t too upset about it though.  I figured I could escape and not have to listen to anyone talking about how cute Ivan was.

Next thing I knew, I was rescued by a wonderful young woman who took me home with her.  She did her best to find my sister Bonnie, but she wasn’t able to.  I still miss Bonnie sometimes and I certainly hope she found a good home.  She tried to find Ivan and Ivanka too but they had already run away.  Between you and me, I was really glad to see the last of that attention sponge Ivan!

It all turned out fine for me though.  I have a wonderful home now.  My new human servants buy me the healthiest cat food ever and sometimes I get treats.  Especially when I cry a lot.  I’m pretty good at crying.  I can even talk and howl too.  Sometimes that works better.  I have a fireplace to lay in front of in the winter.  I have a sheepskin bed to sleep on, but mostly I sleep on my human servants’ bed and cuddle with my female servant at night. 

I have windows to look out at the world.  I spend a lot of time patrolling the perimeter and protecting the house all day.  It’s a tough job but I’m good at it.  I don’t allow any other cats near my house or yard.  (That Ivan better not show up either.  I am a very jealous cat.)  My  humans take good care of me.  They make sure I’m in the house after dark because that’s when the raccoons come around.  I got into a fight once and ended up in surgery with a lampshade on my head for weeks!  That was no fun at all.  I take lots of naps – indoors and outside too.  I have a lot of toys but my favorite thing to play with is string.  I’ve taught my humans to drag the string across the floor and I attack it, always winning. 

So, all in all, it’s a pretty good life with my new humans.  But that Ivan better never show his mug around my house . . . ever!

Connie Archer

A Spoonful of Murder
A Broth of Betrayal
A Roux of Revenge (April 2014)

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