Chapter 6 - Livestock in the Kitchen

[Stephanie]

Please post your comments and questions about Chapter 6 in this thread.

[emeraldisle]

Being a pet lover, I enjoyed the story about Pumpkin, the cat, is this chapter. What do you think Amy meant by " He put a subject in our sentences."  

[vivico1]

Not sure what page that sentence is on to look at it, but it sounds like she was saying, he gave us something to talk about..i.e. he WAS the subject of much conversation.

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emeraldisle wrote:
Being a pet lover, I enjoyed the story about Pumpkin, the cat, is this chapter. What do you think Amy meant by " He put a subject in our sentences."

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[Jennrada]

I, too, am a pet lover (and an office manager at a veterinary clinic for the past 7 years).  My life has been filled with many great cats with excellent personalities, and I loved the story of Pumpkin.  I cried at the end of the chapter when Pumpkin had to be put to sleep.  I love the lne that says, "we both knew that when you love an animal, you have to love it, literally, to death."  So true.

[1ggprincess]

Towards the end of my relationship with my ex- I'm not sure what we would've talked about if we didn't have the dog to talk about!!! Totally related to this chapter and story about pumpkin.

[Deltadawn]

I loved the stories about Pumpkin the cat too. As a kid I had a cat named Pumpkin - and he was such a character - he put the "subject in our sentences" too! haha!

Don't have any pets now because I've developed pet allergies much to my dismay - but love cats and dogs all the same.

[cocospals]

Of course, who could not love the Pumpkin chapter, it was a classic and anyone who has ever owned a cat or has been owned by a cat can relate. But I especially got a chuckle at the beginning of the chapter when Amy is talking about Shirley the Holstein and the crumbling dairy farm.  "If cows got what they deserved in life, then they's preen and lounge in fields of clover, delicately balancing frosted cocktails between their hooves and smoking scented hookahs while discussing their most recent sexual encounters with Bill, the stud muffin bull".  I got this picture in my head and just had to laugh....

[Tonya]

I am not one for cats but Pumpkin sounded adorable. Sounds like a Garfield in a way. It seems like Amy really has lots of support and I do believe that is why she was able to pull herself up by her bootstraps and become the woman she is today.

Tonya

[Tarri]

An excellent chapter.

I, also, had a Pumpkin who was a huge and loving cat, although my Pumpkin was pure white.   I cried when your Pumpkin died and thought of when I lost my Pumpkin. 

I grew up on a farm and the scene with Shirley was so true.  I can remember, to this day, when the slaughter truck would come and we would all hid in the house.  We would refuse to eat meat for a good two weeks, because we made pets of all our cows.   There was also the assortment of house and barn animals, to include pictures of my sister's horse in the family room. 

[kayJ]

I grew up on a farm too and had many farm animals/pets and could relate to Shirley except for the finding her labeled in the freezer later. We didn't eat our milk cows but in a way they were closer to us than the cats and dogs because of the twice a day milkings. We hated when one had to be put down and of course my pet cow named appropriately 'Pet' had a similiar demise that still saddens me to this day. I really liked this chapter.

[Stephanie]

I feel the same - we always had pets- chickens for a while, too, and rabbits, cats, and of course, always a dog, and sometimes two.  It was a long time before I could get my kids a dog, and finally, a year ago, we visited the shelter and found our fine furry friend, Freckles.  He's something else- part Beagle, part Jack Russell... boundless energy, a great hunter (killer of snakes!) and a mushball snuggler all rolled into one.  My husband had to take him to the vet today, where he growled at the big dogs and got so excited he almost hyperventilated!

Pumpkin was that cat - either you've had one like him yourself, or you know someone else who did.  Amy really outdid herself describing him- I felt as though if I turned around I'd see him lying on my couch.

[m3girl]

Amy - what are you doing to me - making me cry!  I went through something similar - losing my kitty to kidney disease just several weeks ago...It's hard and it doesn't ever get easier.  My kitty Isabella was just like your big fat kitty Pumpkin...although she was a fraction of his size.  I think that this chapter is one that anyone that has a four pawed baby can relate to.  It is hard not to get attached to these wonderful friends/family members.  I enjoyed this chapter perhaps best of all.

Susan