It’s been said that 1 in 3 American households has a pet cat. I beg to differ: Cats have human subjects in 1 of 3 American households.

I have nothing against dogs but they need a lot of attention, which I don’t have time to give. That’s why cats make sense in our home. They consent to let you look after them only occasionally giving affection when it suits their purpose.

Our cat tale manifested itself a couple of weeks ago when we met with a representative of Budget Blinds in Woodland to install new window shades on the sliding glass door leading to our backyard. The work comes after the previous window blind was destroyed by our male cat, whose name is Jazz.

Jazz likes to sun himself by lying between the backyard glass door and window shade. Our second cat, Fiona, also likes to sun herself in the same spot, but she’s much thinner than Jazz.

Jazz weighs about 15 pounds and is generally quiet except around my daughter. Fiona weighs 12 pounds. She has a needy personality and will “talk” to us incessantly.

Over the course of several years, Jazz has used his bulk to push the window shade away from the sliding-glass door and in the process breaking nearly every plastic connector hook, which allows the blind to be open and closed horizontally.

The window shade is now halfway open and held in place by duct tape.

Jazz did this several years ago and it cost our family about $1,000 to replace the plastic hooks, which are no longer made.

That means we need a new window shade which has to be “cat proof,” a nearly impossible feat.

Fortunately, the folks at Budget Blinds came up with what we think is a good solution: A series of canvas-style hanging blinds which work independent of one another and can be drawn across the sliding-glass door. That way only one blind might be affected and they’re designed to have more flexibility.

Equally fortunate, the cost should be minimal.

But buying new blinds got me to thinking about how much money we’ve spent on our two cats over the 15 years we have been living with them.

Both Jazz and Fiona are in good shape for their age because we treat them well. Every two or three months, we buy a 17-pound bag of hydrolyzed protein cat food for $156. Every two months we spend $108 on flea treatments. Once a year, they get an office exam for around $800, then there are regular vaccinations and booster shots.

There is also the obligatory kitty litter, which comes to around $70 a month.

In all, we probably spend $3,500 or more a year on the cats, which is undoubtedly less than a pet dog, and doesn’t include the occasional toy or treat. Jazz also costs a little more because one of his eyes gets “goopy” from time to time. He needs eyedrops about twice a week.

Are our cats worth the expense? I sometimes wonder. I think they believe they are.

Then again, we were picking up more cat litter last week and standing in line behind a man who was buying dog food and other things. He spent close to $1,000 on the one purchase, but it could have been for more than one dog.

Maybe our cats aren’t so bad after all.

Jim Smith is the former editor of The Daily Democrat, retiring in 2021 after a 27-year career at the paper.