Buddy's House

My last post was about The Kitty Kottage.... I wrote about it as my childhood home and the 'new' "cat house' in early 80's. But, in between those times, a lady named Barb lived in 'the old house' taking care of The Kat Barn cats. One of the first 'new residents' in that house was Echo, a small mixed breed dog that had been dumped years ago and we found her in a culvert under the driveway. She was a smart dog and Barb my parents' caregivers Brenda and husband David, and myself,  taught Echo many tricks. She loved doing tricks for treats....and we adored her. When David and Brenda moved to Minnesota, they left 'mom' in 'the old house'...As Barb cared for the Kat Barn kits, a handsome 'Morris' looking cat named 'Buddy' followed her everywhere....and one day, he followed her 'out of the Kat Barn' and into the house. She let him stay. He was a delightful cat. When Barb could no longer care for the cats and moved to Minnesota to be with her family, Echo was lonely. So, Wanda and I would spend time with her. We would play with Echo, go through all of her tricks....sit....sit up.....lay down.....turn around....roll over..... And... Buddy.....would watch.
Every day, we repeated the same routine, all the tricks....sit...sit up....shake....lay down.....roll over.... turn around....AND...Buddy......watched.
One day, with a deep (and most likely disgusted) sigh, Buddy came over and SAT when I gave the command to Echo. Coincidence I said.  Then I asked Echo to shake. Buddy looked more disgusted and raised a paw to us while turning his head. (how boring).... EVERY trick Echo did, Buddy did (and in his eyes, he did it better)...we were not surprised. Cats are cunning and wise and smart as a whip. well, most of them anyway.... Buddy continued to do Echo's tricks and they would often get in a little 'row' about it as they each vied for our attentions, one trying to out-do the other with the 'tricks'. It was great fun for us and both animals became fast friends in time.
Then came Buddy.....Yes, another cat named Buddy was brought to us....he had a bit of an aversion to litter pans.... what I playfully call today...our 'pis'demeanor cats. Buddy was white and he moved in with Buddy and Echo. And the three of them continued to live there for many years. We have a sub-name for The Kitty Kottage...."Buddy's House" after our first Morris looking cat resident, our smart sweet kitty boy who knew every trick in the book and all of Echo's 'tricks' too. Echo lived beyond the two cats and as more cats moved into The Kitty Kottage, Echo had many feline friends. As she got older, she could no longer get up and down the outside steps so we moved her to a heated large doghouse....my mother's old 'summer kitchen.' It had a wood stove for cooking outside when it was too hot inside (remember there was NO air conditioning in that house all of my childhood years).... So the summer house became a rather large doghouse where we put in a hanging heater and window air-conditioning. Echo then had dog pals throughout the rest of her years. Echo died a few years ago and her memorial here at C & W is large. She rests under an arbor where roses and flowers grow and a sign above it with her name on it reminds us of 'the old days' of my childhood home....now The Kitty Kottage (Buddy's House).