The Archive |
|
... he has the fiercest set of teeth you ever saw.
|
Whenever I can, I invite a cat to live with me. I enjoy their company and try to establish a sincere relationship with them. I talk to them often and I believe they get to understand what you say to them.
I now have as my companion a neutered five-year old cat (his birthday is August 15) who has completely black fur and big yellow eyes. He is an outdoor cat whenever he wants to be - that means I let him in and out the back door whenever he lets me know that is what he wants. A short while ago Lefty (I call him that because he reaches for everything with his left paw) was acting very strangely, flattening his ears and creeping across the floor towards the back door. I looked around a corner and saw an amazing sight. He was looking out through the screen door and on the other side was a black cat with big yellow eyes looking in. They were mirror images of each other. I started to talk to the strange cat who did not respond but did not run away either. I finally opened the screen door and encouraged Lefty to go out. I thought it would be good for him to have a friend in the neighborhood. After all, dogs sometimes have buddies. The other cat jumped off the back steps and started into the woods. Lefty followed and I closed the door and went about my business. Within five minutes Lefty was clawing at the back door, wild-eyed to come in. I opened the door and as soon as he knew he was safe he turned around and growled and hissed through the screen at the stranger. He wanted no part of the other cat. I have since decided that, although they look exactly alike, the other cat is his evil twin brother. Nothing discourages him though (I found out that his name is Devon. More on this later). Every afternoon about 4:30 he shows up and waits outside the back door. Lefty sits there and hisses and occasionally growls fiercely and sometimes the Evil One growls back. I don't want to let them get together because I think if they ever got into a fight they could really hurt each other. I felt sorry for the other cat so I began talking to him. Now, I'm beginning to think it's Me he's coming to see. I was sitting on my porch one night after supper, not reading or anything, just sitting enjoying the air. After 10 minutes or so, I glanced over to my right and there was Devon sitting there beside me. I started talking to him (just the usual stuff, hello, how are you, what's happening, etc.) and he settled down on the floor, looking at me all the time. Finally, he got up, stretched a few times, and then rolled around scratching his back on the floor. My friends tell me this is the way a cat says, "I love you," but I'm not sure. I should say that when I got a good look at him, he is really very ugly. When he opens his mouth, he has the fiercest set of teeth you ever saw. He has two crooked fangs in his upper jaw that are larger than usual and these are matched by two more crooked fangs in his lower jaw. It gives a frightening expression when you see all those sharp teeth. Who ever heard of a cat with teeth like a Great Dane! Or a sabre tooth tiger! He wears a collar with two tags on it but I have never tried to read what is on the tags - not after seeing that mouth full of teeth. He has the most mournful meow that he uses constantly. So, my question is, doctor, will these two cats ever become friendly? Will the evil twin ever get over his crush on me? He really is very clever. Lefty has a method of signalling me when he wants to come in. He stands on a pipe the oil man uses to deliver oil to a tank in the basement and shakes the screen on my bedroom window. Last night about 4:00 a.m. I heard the noise and, since, I knew Lefty was out, I got up and went to the back door. I didn't put on the light and I could see the outline of the cat's head, but just before I opened the screen door I heard the tinkle of the tags on his collar and I realized it was not Lefty. So, I turned on the outside light and told Devon regretfully to go away. I feel sorry for him but I would break Lefty's heart if I let him in and they would probably kill each other. UPDATE -- I called the Humane Society and told the woman my problem. She suggested that I put a dish of food in front of him and, while he was eating, I get behind him and turn his collar around and look at the tags. Surprisingly, it worked and from the rabies tag, I got the phone number of an animal clinic. It was in a city about fifteen miles away. I thought, if the poor cat walked all that way I really would feel sorry for him. I called them and the doctor said, "His name is Devon and he lives at" and gave me an address on my street about five houses away from mine. I scolded Devon for making me feel that he was a poor lost cat and walked down the street to see what the situation was. His lady of the house said he was upset because she had two dogs and another cat and Devon wants to be an only cat - which means he wants to chase my poor Lefty away. She walked back to my house and as soon as Devon saw her, he ran over and rubbed against her ankles. She picked him up and kissed and hugged him. When she put him down, he very happily went off with her. Unfortunately, he came back to me the next day. Later -- It's been quite a while since I've had a visit from the Evil One. I don't miss him and my Lefty seems very contented in his solo star status. June 1, 2001
|