The definitive top five favourite animal list which shifts rarely-if ever, goes like this
1)Wolves 2)Horses 3)Vultures 4)Bats 5) Cats
“Cats” umbrellas wild and domestic-an issue i am currently grappling with as i understand the distinction, but know i only like forward and friendly domestic cats-and can’t bare shy ones, and particularly like Tigers, Panthers and Lions but am not very fond of Cheetahs. It’s a tough one, and may now finally have to be revised (Cats have been in my top three for as long as i can remember and only moved down when i had to extend to a top five having discovered my love for Vultures and Bats, and furthermore after the death of my dearly beloved Tolstoy which revealed to me that it wasn’t so much that i loved Cats, more that i loved MY cat. For he was truly one in a million.)
Seeing as we’re on the subject, this is Tolstoy.
He was the best cat on the planet ever. Period. My parents got him around the same time i was born so i grew up with him and he was one of my greatest friends. Non ‘animal’ people won’t get this. Non ‘animal’ people also suck. And lose. He was born in a skip and a totally tough guy. My parents’ friends found him and the rest of the litter, kept their mum Gabbie, and offered him to us. I honestly believe he was a dog trapped in a cat’s body. He was notorious in our street, if you pissed him off he would fuck you up, i think Rosa’s dad hated him but everyone else loved him. He fucked with a Dalmation once. When we got our dog she was so scared of him. He’d lie down in the hallway and if she wanted to get past she’d stop in front of him and whimper until someone came and moved him. He was so cuddly and sweet and if we ever went away he’d always come out to meet us from the car when we came home. He loved sitting on your newspaper/homework while you were trying to read/do it and he’d come and sleep with me and when i’d wake up he’d have made a bed out of my pillow. And once when i was in Primary he walked me all the way into class. INTO class. i was like, “yeah, thas my cat, he rules”. He died of a stomach tumour when i was 17. It came up really quickly and they told us he had a month, I went away on a school trip and while i was there they put him down earlier than expected cos he was really suffering, so i never really got to say bye. Are you crying yet? He’s in a box in the kitchen now so still with us. Hurrah.
Another issue i find myself torn over is my love of Dogs. This is Goose.
Most people think she looks like an overgrown rat. She does really, especially in this photo. But i think she is a total Wolfhound Bedlington Cross Lurcher BABE. She had an operation to remove a cist on her chest today (AW?). Apparently it all went fine but then she started bleeding profusely all over the house. Yikes. There was a puddle of blood on the floor, GNAR GNAR. I think she’s ok. I hope she’s ok because if anything happens to that dog, well lets just say you might as well paraplege my mum. She’d rather lose my dad. No seriously.
These are her friends Cheesecake 
And Dizzee
The thing is, i do love Dogs. I Love them. They are so cool and cute and fun to hang out with. But there is just something that is keeping them from the list. I guess, i dunno, they’re just dogs. Maybe its their dependence upon humans that puts me off. I suppose that’s our fault though isn’t it. I think it requires further thought.
So Anyway. Tangent. The List. The list is currently causing me difficulties. Because while i can’t really see any substitutions being made in the near future, there are particular other creatures often on my mind, that need to be on some sort of list because i really love them. Those include, Penguins, the aforementioned Dog, Deer, Foxe, Bunny, Zebra, Hedgehog, Bison, Otter,Snow Leopard, Snow Fox, Llama, Chimpanzee and also ANYTHING BABY. Any baby animal is my favourite thing in the world. While i do not condone GM anything in any way shape or form, there is a part of me who, in a fictional world would LOVE a set of pets genetically modified to stay baby. MY. GOD. (We also haven’t even reached the realm of mythical animals. I’ll save that for another post.)
So what i think i’m going to have to do is create two more lists, one will be a sublist: an appendix to The List. And the other will be a Dream List reserved only for mythical, hybrid and dream animals i/people come up with in the head.
In order to do this i think it’s important to conduct a closer study of the animals up for submission. Maybe one a week. Like the personal ad column. Watch this space. xx
Klaussloves 