Amelia: My Cat, My Character, and a Memory From Childhood

In my latest novel Then Comes Love, Amelia is the sassy wild child who isn't quite ready to settle down at thirty-two.

Where did her name come from?

Of all places, Amelia's name came from... Amelia. My cat. My first cat, to be exact.

It's quite fitting. I knew I wanted Amelia to be a sassy, wild kind of character, and Amelia is quite a sassy, wild cat. I though it had a nice ring to it.

Amelia, the cat, came into our lives our second year of marriage. We were living in an apartment and not allowed to have pets. About two weeks before we closed on our house, though, one of Chad's friends from work found a kitten. The kitten was outside on a day that temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. It was hungry, hot, and needed a home. Since they were allergic to cats, we ended up agreeing to take her.

In one of the few acts of rebellion in my entire life, I disobeyed the landlord and hid Amelia in our apartment for two weeks. It was quite interesting hiding a wild, crazy kitten in the bedroom of our apartment, but we managed to pull it off.

Perhaps from being out in the 100 degree whether, Amelia's a bit of an odd cat. 

My Crazy Cat Amelia

1. She loves power ballads. If we play John Legend, Adele, or Sarah Mclachlan, she meows, rubs us, and cries repeatedly. She will try to climb up your leg, rubs Henry's face, and just goes crazy. 

2. She is crazy obsessed with anything paper. She even stole our stamps one time.

3. She is alpha cat. If we bring a new cat into the house, she beats it up at least twenty-five times before she admits to liking it.

4. She is also obsessed with our computer room and desks. She walks around bawling, just waiting for one of us to go to the office. Then, she sleeps on my husband's hoodie under his desk lamp. She will sleep like this for hours.

5. She bites me if she doesn't like my perfume. Seriously. 

6. She is a vegetarian. She will not eat meat, cheese, or cat treats. However, she once stuck her foot in a pot of water on the stove to get her favorite food: green beans. She loves anything green: salad, broccoli, even olives. Weird.

7. If you yell at her, she meows back at you. 

8. She tries to sneak into the attic constantly. As in one day when we were at work, she managed to wriggle the door open to get in.

9. She used to have an obsession with jumping in the fridge. 

10. She has stirred an irregular amount of conversations between my husband and I about Amelia Bedelia. Do you remember those books about the crazy housekeeper who took everything literally? Apparently Chad does because he can oddly quote a lot the books...creepy lol. 


So yeah, Amelia is a bit wild and crazy. She's got quite a list of quirks, but what cat doesn't?

Do you have an Amelia cat? Tell me about your cat's crazy antics below :)