Artoo
1992 - Hopefully a long, long time
What can be said about Artoo that hasn't already been said? He's loyal and dominantly friendly. He started out as one of four in a litter born somewhere in Alexandria. He went to a local pet shop, and one day, I happened by. The pet shop at that time was in this really awful shopping center practically hidden in some woods on North Shore Drive in Reston. Everything in the shopping center was either out of business, or about to. This shop never had any customers as far as I could see, and I used to take CR down there when he was a toddler to look at the animals.
One day, the pet shop was going out of business. Everything must go! Including all pets and supplies at major discounts. There was one lonely kitten in a cage. He had the markings of... Hitler. No really! He had the mustache and hairline, kind of like "Heil Kitty" or something. No one would buy him. It was very sad. They told me that I could get him for the cost of shots, and all this food for free. I picked him up in my arms, and he purred and purred. This cat and I really bonded from the start. So, against my better judgement, I brought him home. He was very noisy, he squeaked a lot. He had this mew that as a kitty, sounded like something a computer would make, so I named him Artoo, after R2D2, the noisy and squeaky droid in Star Wars. Christine and her cousin Janita thought he looked more like Hitler, though, and used to raise his paw up like a Nazi salute, saying, "Heil Hitler" in squeaky voices. Artoo didn't care *what* you did to him, as long as you petted him. What a ham!
Pookie loved him immediately. Mikey looked in his cage, and Artoo hit him. Thus started this love-hate relationship that continued until Mikey's death a year later. Artoo loved to "play" with Mikey, which Mikey hated, so he tried to kill him. I don't think Artoo ever got the idea. I think one of Artoo's best qualities, his need for attention, is also one of his most annoying. As a kitten, he'd sit on your chest at night when you wanted to sleep, and lick the inside of your nose and ears. Even when you threw him off the bed or across the room in disgust, within seconds, he'd be right back on you with an enthusiastic look of, "I'm back! I have no idea how I got on the floor, but rest assured, I am back for you! LOVE MEEEEE." He'd try and jump on my guests. But while his affectionate games won him over with the rest of the crowd, Mikey still hated him. One day, he tore open Artoo's face from chin to ear, and we had to get stitches. Artoo looked like Frankenstein's Kitty for a while.
Artoo has always been the people's ambassador to our home. He loves people, and loves their coats even more. Especially leather jackets that our friend Rogue wears. Artoo is also into masochism; he loves to be roughhoused with. He loves to be slapped, pushed, and pummeled when you pet him. He loves the camera, and we have more pictures of him than any other cat. He claws things a lot, and most of our cat-clawed items in our home are his workings. He has destroyed several cat posts. He may sound tough, but he doesn't look it. He's skinny, he's always been skinny, and he's very light. But the best part is he is friendly, and so far, the only one who has held his own against the new dog in our house, master Ahfu.
Artoo has this habit of wanting to be where the action is, no matter what. He'll sneak into your office, and if you try and shoo him away, he'll hide behind a desk. He gets accidentally locked into closets a LOT. If you lock him away from people, he'll howl and meow until he's with someone.
Artoo will put up with anything if it will get him petted. If there's a party, he goes nuts trying to get petted by anyone. He's so people friendly, if he hates someone, we consider that a BAD sign indeed. And he'll even like people who hate cats with aplomb!