I’ve some news. I made a new friend the other day. We met unexpectedly, and hit it off in minutes, recognizing something we liked in each other quite quickly, I expect. We met and hung out for a little while, enjoying each others company, and then the next few nights, met again at the same spot at around the same time, being pleased to see each other every time. I admit I was quite surprised by how much I melt with delight every time I see my new friend. We really enjoy each other’s company, and in the week of our friendship, we have spent quality time together doing a favorite thing together – sitting side by side on the steps outside at night staring into the darkness, just listening, sniffing the air and thinking.
I’ve been toying with the whole idea of how far to pursue this new friendship. Yeah, commitment issues. Bottoms line is that I’ve been wary of getting into something like this for years because I worry that circumstances are such that I can’t always be there for such a friend, and so don’t want them to become dependent on me. But this seems to be something out of my control, really. Maybe I should just see how it goes. A good sign is that my friend does not seem to really need me too much, does not seem underfed at all, and in fact has rejected some of my offers to take things to a new level by offers of food. In fact, only a little drink of milk has been accepted during our times together, and a specially bought can of tuna was shown indifference, so maybe the worry about dependence is entirely misplaced, and I should just enjoy the friendship.
Here’s a blurry snap of my friend, the cat (wait, what were you thinking I was talking about?), after enjoying some milk on an evening visit and playing with the string and cork arrangement I have operating one of my blinds. He just came by my door one night, and we got chatting and hanging out on the deck on the warmer of the evenings we had recently. It has got cold the last two, and I’ve not seen him, but I expect he’ll be back later. After some caution, he turned out to be friendly with me once we’d assessed each other and developed a vocabulary of shared greeting noises (I’m good with cats that way), and I am trying to work out if he is new in the area, lost (there are no visible ID tags), or just trying a new patrol route. He came by during the day for the first time the other day when I was watering plants, so it’s not just about evening hanging out. Maybe we’ll patrol the garden together…
Good Times.
-cvj
Sadly, after about three weeks there were no more sightings of my friend. Perhaps whoever owns him found him and returned him home… I still look out for him from time to time, but have seen no signs at all.
-cvj
My cat, a russian blue, is so intelligent, he makes more sense than most of my friends. Do pursue this relationship, as the time permits. Time is so short and life to valuable to wait. I have for some time suspected that cats my actually have 9 lives.
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Nice cat!
I’d recommend pursuing the relationship…
However – cats, like every other mammal (except for about 30% of homo sapiens) is lactose intolerant after weaning. So instead of milk (which will gastrointestinal upset), how about treating your new friend with a little heavy cream? Just a little, mind you. Cats are far more adapted to high protein than high fat. Also, beware feeding cats too much fish.
A good quality canned food (without wheat/gluten, rice and soy) is a good choice, supplemented with some raw meat. Do not feed your new friend dry food! I learned this lesson the hard way, watching my slightly overweight cats develop chronic renal failure and eventually cancer.
Totally sweet. ‘..melt with delight..’ I expect a phase transition soon?
I’m so happy for you both. What was that sixties expression – cool for cats? Anyway, cat people are so much cooler than dog people, probably because cats are so much cooler than dogs. And cats are so much more emotionally mature.
Aw, a cutie! We had a similar visitor a few years back when I lived in a house with fellow physics majors- he was well-fed and collared so we knew he was a neighbor cat, but he liked our kitty treats and let us call him Schrodinger so we got along well. 🙂
You should read ‘Six Dinner Sid’!
I was going to suggest a cat for the garden; they are both the best ornament and guardian. A garden becomes a jungle with a tiger in residence. Really the best thing is borrow a cat. It’s probably your neighbor’s, so you won’t have to worry if you take a trip.
No need for Matrix then for your defence force! Hope he returns for the occasional visit – you know what those furry creatures can do to your heart strings – be careful – you know what we are like with cats, brother! cmj+
Yes! But Slinky more than Fluffy, I’d guess… He can therefore help with the ground wars while I focus on the tree and air battles…
Cheers!
-cvj
looks like you have an ally in your garden wars against fluffy et al. !