Cat-sitting opens eyes of dog lover

After a week of caretaking, Leo the cat still flashed her teeth at me.

She didn't hiss or meow. She didn't lash out. She merely pointed out, “These fangs could send you to the hospital, and when you get out, you'll have to come back and clean my litter box.”

I celebrated this holiday season by opening presents, spending time with my family and watching other people's cats.

I'm pretty sure the only reason my friends asked me to cat-sit was because I was the only one available who wouldn't burn their houses down. This is why I was asked instead of my husband, who would have also sneaked beer out of their fridges.

Our family owns two dogs, so I'm not used to the demeanor of cats.

Every time I walk in the door at home, my dogs jump and wag their tails. It's like they can't even handle how much they've missed me for the past nine hours.

So when I walked into my friends' homes to feed their cats, I expected to be welcomed as the food-bearer who would pet them kindly in the absence of their owners.

Wrong.

A trio of cats at one home ran to the door to greet me each time I visited. They immediately stopped caring once I poured food into their bowls.