A cat.

[icarus]

So, oh friends who are knowledgeable about cat politics, what would you advise my father? I've already sent my advice.

A Cat

This began quite innocently.

I've been playing the cat game for years, something I made up one evening's walk back when we lived in Alice, the house. Do you remember Alice? [Editor's note: Yes, my dad named his house "Alice." If you saw the house you'd understand.]

Toronto's beaches community is the kind of place that attracts cat people, and so there are cats prowling all over the place. Some are stand-offish, some gregarious, and others are total sucks. Never mind why, but on one evening's walk I made a game of it, counting two points for a sighting, five points for a touch, and seven if I could cause the cat to come to me and suffer my hand upon it. The record is somewhere under one hundred points.

Last week a very plump tortise shell cat wandered into our back garden and onto the deck. I did my usual cat talk and he (or she, or it) came right to me. I rubbed its head, stroked its ample sides and we had a most satisfying commune. A definite seven. The problem is, the cat won't leave.

It's a well fed cat. There are no signs of abuse or neglect. Good fur. No sense that this is a cat in need of a home.

As I said, we had a very nice visit, and I assumed that the cat would go home when I locked up for the night. Not so. Next morning, cat was still there. Annie didn't help at all, she let the cat in the house. Cat looked the entire place over and gave it it's complete approval. Eventually Annie had to put the cat outside. Note there were no frenzies involved, No hissing or scratching. Just very sad and disappointed cat sounds.

We left for a five day journey down the Hudson River Valley on an art, poetry and food break – one last treat before I become a temporary invalid. [Editor's note: My dad is going in for foot surgery.]

That should have been ample time to discourage any cat, but not this one. Still there, insistent. And the cat has a point: "Hey, you let me in before, why not now? What did I do? What did I say? Is there a problem? Let's talk. I can make some changes, lose a little weight. Come on! Don't just slam the door in my face!"

And now I feel terrible.

This is someone's cat. Why does it prefer to be here? Is it an abandoned kitty? What's going on?

What would happen if we took it in?

Is there any higher complement from the animal kingdom than being chosen by a cat?

Is this hubris of the highest order?

Why won't the cat go away?

All thoughts on the subject will be most welcome.

By the way, the cats name in our household is, Speckles. Because of it's most interesting coat.

I'll note he's already named the kitty.

Comments

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

The other cats must have put up an ad. There was talk around the water cooler.

Apparently, if you want a cat they'll come to you....

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Ah, but you see, we were living in the country. Cats just happened there. Now I'm in central Paris, and no way is a cat going to brave the streets, the door to my building, the videophone to access my staircase, and my locked flat door...

Vets. Yea vets!

(I've gone mad for Bengals, if I have to go LOOKING for a cat. But the sweet darlings ain't cheap.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh, they're beautiful. How are they in a closed environment? Are they like Abynissians?

[shezan.livejournal.com]

I have no idea what Abyssinians are like, but apart from being described as "active" (and surely they can't be more active than a dog, which my parents also had at one stage, and that when we were no longer in the country) Bengals apparently love swimming, which is something I find brilliant (I love swimming too.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Abynissians are described as "active" too.

What it means in their case is that they're highly intelligent, inquisitive cats that are great with kids, dogs, other animals, and lots of activity. They'll want to follow you around and get into your laundry, bat at your hands when you type, and do marvelous things like figure out how to open doors and empty your sock drawer, one sock at a time.

They're totally wrong for a place where the owner's gone a lot and it's quiet and peaceful. They get depressed and, sometimes, destructive. A more mellow cat is better for that circumstance.

Icarus

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Right now, I work from home, so that would work very well. I have NO idea whether I might have a salaried job in the future, so I was thinking of getting two cats, who would keep one another company...

(They sound like marvellous cats. I wonder how they'd take to going to the hypothetical office with me on a leash?)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've heard Abynissians, if you start them young, will often walk on a leash. They're very social and gregarious.

Of course any cat person knows it always depends on the cat. I had a tabby who never had a leash on him until he was eight years old. He took to it, though he had to express his independence by taking you for a walk, at full speed. No matter how fast you walked, he'd go faster. I think he had a sense of humor.