I have mixed feelings about cats. Don't we all to some degree? Our first cat on our family farm we named Orange Peel ( I think my dad had that brilliant idea) and he was technically my sister's cat. He was orange and white. He was the best cat in the world you know why? He thought he was a dog. He came from a friend and they gave him to us a little too early. Our dog had had puppies around the same time he had been born and so when he came to us, instead of resenting him as our dog usually resented any animal that took up our affection, she adopted him as her own! The other puppies accepted him as a sibling. He nursed from our dog and rough housed with the puppies. It was so cute to see all these puppies piling on this kitten and the kitten able to hold its own! Eventually when all the puppies were gone Orange Peel was the only child left and he and our dog had a very special bond. They often wrestled together. Acquaintances to our family would be startled to see a dog and cat staring each other down across from each other on the lawn and then racing full tilt, in seemingly full attack mode, at each other. We would not bat an eye and they would be freaking out that the animals were going to kill each other. They would tumble over each other snarling and hissing but having the time of their lives.
Orange Peel was the sweetest most affectionate cat you could ask for. I remember a day I was sitting in the green house on a bale of hay crying forlornly over some heartbreak. He quietly came up beside me and licked the tears off my cheek and then curled up on my lap purring up a storm. It was so comforting during a moment I felt cold and alone. That was one of the last times I saw him. He led quite an exciting life as he was not neutered. He roamed the neighborhood and got into passionate fights. He kept us (okay me) hopping with all his wounds as some of them were quite life threatening! One day he just didn't come home. We kept hope for quite a while as concerned neighbors told us stories of cats that came home months later. We somehow knew though that if he could have come home he would have because he would have missed his mom (our dog). One day our neighbor found him in their field and he was quite dead. We think maybe he got kicked by a horse or cow or something. We had a very emotional burial and mourned him quite properly. We have had four other family cats since and none have been quite like him. I always thought that maybe all cats were like our four other family cats and that Orange Peel was so sweet because he thought he was a dog.
However I was surprised years later to find another cat that reminded me so much of Orange Peel. When my husband and I lived on the family farm for a while we had mice. I have blogged about that previously. I felt the need for a cat and that turned into two cats as my dad had a co worker that needed to give her cats to a good home. These cats were siblings, named Charley and Wednesday, and they had been rescued, almost dead, as kittens from a dumpster. When they first arrived they hid for days in our house. One of them (Charley) was especially shy. Wednesday was much smaller than Charley and warmed up to us a lot faster. She was obsessed with always having food and knowing where it was. She was a bit of a stress case and took very good care of Charley. She kept him groomed and snuggled and very loved on. He was the shy quiet, much larger, brother. He hid for days and I was worried we might never have a chance with him. One night however I was lying on my couch reading and all of a sudden quietly and sweetly Charley stole up and snuggled onto my chest just under my chin. His big furry body relaxed and he started to purr. My eyes welled up with tears. I felt like he had just entrusted his precious heart to me and I was right. From then on Charley worked hard to prove how much he loved me. He caught all the evil mice invading my home. He faithfully brought me snakes, rats and other fruits of his labor to show me. When we had to move I knew I could not take them with me. We were moving to a busy street in town. They were used to being outside when they wanted and we had lived far off the road. I felt like I could not handle the heart break if one of them got hit by a car. They were so bonded to each other. I had to give them away and it brought back the heart ache of so many other goodbyes. Some animals just love you and they love you right. They trust you unconditionally and if you get a chance to experience that it changes your life.
So, out there in this world there are cats and then there are CATS. Some of them are the sweetest, loyalest, kindest animals; and some of them are fiends and I found that out just like every other human :) I am thankful for my Orange Peel cat and my Charley cat and I miss them. They were treasures that will never be forgotten.
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