Frida and Diego
My first owners baptized me Cookie, but Bettubela renamed me Frida.
She explained to me that my exotic and colorful temperament is similar to that of the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.
I’m temperamental, jealous, flirtatious, pushy and very creative. This trade I demonstrate by leaving my muddy tracks on the house floor when I return from my adventures outdoors. I don’t understand why Bettu always erases my works of art.
As for my brother Diego, he is calm, hedonistic and very idealistic. Bettu says that he looks like a hippie because he sleeps through dinnertime and the only thing he cares about is enjoying long naps on the sofa.
Also when another of our species hisses at him, he refuses confrontation. As my brother explains to me, ”The cemetery is full of brave cats, so what good is it to impress the girls and then die?”
For Diego, everything is peace and happiness. Bettu says that my brother should have been born in the seventies since he loves to chew and get high on the catnip that Bettu plants in the backyard of her house.
Humans love to anthropomorphize us, and on that point she is right. I’ll tell you that my brother and all of our kind get really high on this wonderful herb.
Bettu says that Diego and the Mexican painter love life with a great intensity. That’s the main reason she decided to giving us such memorable names.
The truth is that I couldn’t care less if my name is Cookie or Frida. What I don’t want is to suffer hunger anymore. I know that Bettu adores me and I thank her with my purrs and with mice from the garden. I don’t have the slightest idea why she rejects them. Humans are very strange creatures.
I enjoy when she calls me “Frida, mi vida,” petting me as I stretch my legs with great pleasure and think: “Ah, ah, life, this is life! What else can I ask for?”
We both met Bettu at the vet from the living neighborhood. We lived with our first owner at her home for a few weeks, but she returned us because her husband hates our kind.
What a stupid man! He doesn’t know what he was missing rejecting us. His wife came back to the vet lying that she was returning us because we scratched her kids and the furniture. This was impossible since she ordered our claws to be removed. Ouch, it was so painful, this procedure. It is so barbaric! I now have to hunt with my back claws. Sometimes, humans don’t have any clue of the atrocities they commit against our species.
Well, when Bettu saw us at the vet, it was love at first sight. The veterinarian explained to her the real reason why our former owner brought us back. Bettu couldn’t care less about the reasons and took us eagerly to our new refuge where we were received by the humans, as heroes.
However, the first days were not pleasant. Nick, the family dog, selfish and jealous of our presence, followed us all over the house, trying to defend his territory. Ulysses, another of Bettubela’s felines, makes my life miserable. At first glance, our hatred was mutual – but I believe he is in love with me and he does this to get my attention.
He attacks me every opportunity he gets. I meow as hard as my lungs can, asking for help from Bettu to put him in his place. What a moron! My tantrums are always a success.
We have shared Bettu’s house with ten other felines. We enjoy an idyllic routine: In the mornings, Bettu feeds us with cans of tuna, chicken, turkey and beef that are claw-licking good. Later we play in the garden, climb the trees and scare squirrels, birds and mice. We feel like kings of the animal kingdom. Of course, we defend our territory ferociously.
At night, Bettu, calls us with claps, as if she were dancing flamenco. We all obey her call and enter the house tired and hungry to enjoy a delicious dinner. Finally, we groom before going to bed with Bettu.
Lastly, I’ll share with you that I was born in an abandoned car. Luckily, a girl who works at the vet heard my brother’s and my hungry meows.
Somehow, the girl managed to take my whole family to the vet. My mom was adopted by a caring family and she is very happy. Bettu shows me her picture often so I won’t forget her. You already know the rest of the story.
Well, I now turn over the meows to Rambo. He is really a very lucky feline! You’ll find out very soon why.
Talita 
HAHA When you said your cats defend their territory “ferociously” I found it hilarious. It is amazing how defiant, defensive and resilient animals can be! My grandparents have a miniature Dachshund, and we have a full-sized black lab, a huge size difference! Our dog probably has eighty-five pounds on that little brat, yet each time they meet there is a fight. Our dog obviously toys with the little one, yet the small dog refuses to back-down. With each attempt our dog merely pins the perrito, yet it keeps coming back, time and time again. Such resilience these animals have, it’s astounding!
I’m starting to feel like your cats are to you what my puppies are to me. I love them more than anything and having known them since they first came home, it’s amazing to see the different personalities that they have. I can tell that you love your pets very much and it seems as though they love you just as much, if not more.
I can see Frida’s little paw prints all over the floor…Mine do the same! And I love Diego’s philosophy of life. Buen gato!
I can relate what my dogs are to me, your cats are to you. Pets are truly a part of every families life. Your pets seem to love you and that is because you provide them with food and shelter.
Los animales nos dan amor incondicional y demuestran su lealtad constantemente.
Me alegra que tengas perros. I’m glad you have dogs!!
Tu profesora de español,
Beatriz.
Profesora Strumpf, yo pienso que es impresionante la relación que usted tiene con sus gatos. Ellos son como sus niños y usted toma el mejor cuidado de ellos, entonces la mayoría de los estudiantes colegiales cuidan de sí mismos. Pienso que es muy creativo denominarles Diego y Frida a causa de sus personalidades. Asombra que usted abra su hogar a gatos que nadie desea.
Caitlin:
La personalidad de Frida se asemeja mucho a la de la pintora mexicana del mismo nombre. Por esa razón, decidí ponerle ese nombre.
Me encanta la forma que usted nombró a los gatos después de Frida Frida Kahlo. Yo soy un artista por lo que han estudiado su obra y el gato esto suena muy similar a la manera de Frida vivió su vida, libremente. El gato Diego se habla que me hace reír, porque se dice que debe nacer en los años setenta. Me encanta que los gatos se catnip Creo que es increíble porque mi hermano y yo a dar la hierba gatera gato de vez en cuando. Realmente me siento como si no le hace daño a todos los gatos sólo los hace más felices y entusiasmados con la vida de una cierta cantidad de tiempo. No me gusta cuando la gente declaw gatos, si son los gatos de interior único que puedo entender, pero si declaw los gatos y los gatos son interiores al aire libre que realmente tienen pocas probabilidades de supervivencia en una pelea si uno iba a ocurrir, se hace me entristece.
“Vida de m de Frida” es un nombre tan apropiado de llamar su amado gato. Frida parece ser un animal muy astuto que busca mucha sabiduría de su hermano y de usted. La vida que Frida vive ahora es muy diferente de cómo cosas fueron una vez para ella. El hecho que fue guardada cuando vivió en un coche abandonado es homenaje a su voluntad para vivir una vida muy completa.
Los gatos son tan adorables. ¿Puedes por favor traer uno a clase un día para que podamos jugar con ellos?
I’m loving Frida already, such a spoiled rascal! The drastic difference in personalities between Frida and her brother is funny: they could do their own comedy duo complete with catnip addictions.
-Michelle De Jesus
Los gatos son muy monos, y me gutsa el nombre mucho. Es perfecto que la personalidid de su gato Frida es similar de la personalidad de Frida Khalo. Es muy simpactico que su rescatas los gatos, y darlos la comida. es muy importante que los gatos siempre comen.
No me gusta mucho los gatos. im más de un amante de los perros , pero yo todavía puedo admirar la belleza del reino animal.
I love the vast personalty you explain in your pets. Are they rescued cats? I only have one cat and he is just a little over a year old. He is a big fluffy orange cat named O’Mally. He can be a pain in the back side but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He has become even more of a bigger part of my life as just recently my family dog of 11 years passed away.
I have a cat is extremely territorial so it is quite surprising that your cat hides when visiting cats arrive. I also love how you personified your cat and put the story in the cats perspective.
Esta historia es tan entretenida. Me encantó oír desde la perspectiva del gato, fue una forma muy creativa de la escritura. Estos animales parecen que viven una vida bastante grande en el momento. ¡Yo no le importaría vivir yo! Es triste que los gatos tenían ser expulsado de su primer hogar pero todo sucede por una razón, por lo que nunca hubieran tenido esta gran vida ahora si no había ocurrido. Parece que son muy queridos, no hay nada mejor y alguien que es capaz de apreciar y dar a sus mascotas el amor que se merecen. Personalmente soy una persona animal enorme y no puede esperar a tener muchas mascotas cuando sea mayor.
Frida se parece a mi gato creciendo Gabby. Sólo tuvimos Gabby durante unos meses antes de que mis padres se dieron cuenta de que era alérgico.
My cat at home is really really protective of is territory! It shocks me that the cat hides when company arrives! Thats not like most cats, maybe he’s soft. The difference between her and her sibling is very funny though.
Diego is a nice cat. I like how you compare him to a hippie because he is all about peace and happiness.