Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Hamster Haven

When I was about 11 years old my mother bought me a couple of hamsters on a whim. She bought two so that they could keep each other company. Instead one declared war on the other and we ended up having to keep them in separate cages that we kept sitting right next to each other.

One hamster was sweet and gentle while the other was hell on earth. So you can guess which one was the aggressor in their relationship.

At the same time we had a cat, Cassie, who was terribly lonely when we were out at school and work. Cassie would curl up to purr herself to sleep on top of the cages so that she would have some company. She never tried to get the hamsters, they never crossed her radar as prey.

The interesting part of this story is that the sweet and gentle hamster somehow learned to purr from her. If you held him up to your ear you could hear a tiny, hamster-sized rumble.

Both hamsters died while I was at summer camp and the cat disappeared a short time later.  The next year we replaced Cassie with two more cats but we never had hamsters again.

2 comments:

  1. That's a wonderful image--Cassie sleeping on top of your hamsters' cages. I almost want a hamster now, after seeing a funny TV commercial featuring a cute hamster. But, I don't know how Molly the Cat would like one.

    Take 25 to Hollister
    Don't be a Hippie

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  2. Awww, this story was so sweet. Poor lonely Cassie and her sweet purring hamster friend.

    Have fun with a-z. :)

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