TAILS TO TELL

I am currently house and cat sitting for a friend and am falling behind on my own e-mail and cleaning as I am working nights at the same time. His poor cat has seperation anxiety; at least, were he a human that's how I would diagnose him. He was about ten months old when he was re-homed by my friend. There was nothing as to his history and how this wonderful kitty had come to be dumped off at Petcetera. When he gets left, though, he panics. I suspect that he may have been left alone for an extended period of time.

How many times have you heard that story? A person gets into a new relationship and they discover that the person doesn't like cats. So, guess who leaves? Even if the beloved pet may have been around for a long time and "Mr We Just Met in A Bar and I'm Desperate" may not be a sure thing.

I wish they could tell us, for they do have strong feelings. People who blow off the emotions of animals are clods. I once read a Phd's comments that cats merely bond with their owners in order to garner food. Idiot.

Yes, they want that. Shelter and territory and if they are not fixed, the feral males seek as many females as possible. They also enjoy play. I've also watched cats seek revenge. We had a racoon problem at work and the trapper came in to relocate them. The racoons had been particularily troublesome to the cats. One of the fattest, nastiest coons was in a cage. I watched one of the cats size up the situation. Realizing that the racoon could no longer do him any harm, he climbed on top of the cage and with what I suspected was supreme satisfaction, defecated on top of the racoon through the grill.

I had a domestic rabbit in my back yard who had gotten out of somebody's cage. After time, I began to see him spending time with this very feral tom that I fed. One night I spotted them sleeping side by side in one of my flower beds. A large tom and a domestic rabbit would naturally be enemies but I like to think that they wanted some sort of company. I would see them together often at night.

They also show gratitude and an understanding and comprehension of the source of the food. We all can provide stories of dead birds being dropped off on our steps. I have a story that still makes me upset when I tell it. At work there was a feral cat who I merely called Wildcat. That's a photo of him above the blog. He only showed up at night and would cover the grounds to make sure that his girls were okay. For years he ran the show and for years I fed him. I would bring the food in, put it down and step away. If I got too close, he'd give me a slurpy hiss. There was no messing with this cat. He certainly had a longer run then most wildcats too. However, he suddenly began to lose a lot of weight. One night I got a phonecall and one of my coworkers told me that "my cat" was looking for me. He told me that the cat had come into the building and was looking around and had then jumped into a chair. This was astounding. The cat had never been inside in his life.

I walked to the building and sure enough, the cat was there. I walked over and talked to the cat. He looked me dead in the eye and held my gaze. I put my hand out and pet him on the head. Just once. I lost it. I knew I was never going to see the cat again. I knew he was saying goodbye and thanks. The cat got up, walked out and I never saw him again. I hate crying in front of people and I had to go to the bathroom because I was so upset.

Tell me again that cats don't communicate and have feelings.