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Saturday, May. 16, 2009 - 8:56 p.m.

Dinner Guest
**************

Some time ago before the Red Cat era
I semi owned a feral kitten
a lovely silver colour
just a few months old
who was very wild

Somehow he was living in my yard
all on his own
I would catch glimpses of him
as he ran between bushes
or I would find his tracks
on the early morning dewy lawn

Sometimes I would see him
catching and eating bugs
by the basement window
where the bright light attracted moths,
drinking from puddles
on the neighbors driveway after the garden sprinkler sprinkled had cut off.

Or more rarely, when I sat outside
on summer evenings
with my old Siamese cat.
the feral kitten would sneak up
and spy on us,
but only if we were quiet
me reading or drawing
old Pinkie sitting quietly, watching me.
If I moved suddenly
or made any sort of sound
he would melt away into the shadows


He was fascinated with
sweet old Pinkie and would stare at her
when she was outside alone
sunbathing on the cement steps
he was probably lonely for cat company
and she was the only cat around
The feral kitten was still very young
and had only left his cat family
a couple of months before.

With Pinkies help as cat coach
I was able to lure him to the porch
with pop bottle caps of cereal cream.
It took two weeks of dusk visits
before he would take the cream
with me watching at a distance

In a month we were able to coax him
right inside the kitchen door
to finish up Pinkies supper
after she was done with it
but as soon as he had eaten his fil,l
he would melt away into the darkness

by August he was easy enough with us
to eat out of his own bowl
sometimes right beside Pinkie,
as long as I didn't get too close
and left the kitchen door wide open

as soon as he was full he would slip away
That system worked like clockwork:
feral kitten would arrive on the porch at dusk,
scope out the scene salute Pinkie
stare at me to see if ir was still ok
eat quickly then leave

We didn;t see him for three days
during a severe stormy period
and wondered
how he was doing out there
After the storm had passed
the feral kitten showed up at dusk,
but this time he had a companion:
a skinny limping sketchy acting
one eyed older Tom cat

the feral kitten
was unusually confident
and strutted up onto the porch
like he owned the place
sniffed around, saluted Pinkie
and then came into the kitchen
and sniffed the spot where
he usually found
his bowl of complimentary kibble

the old spooky tom wheezed
in low grade brittle panic
on the driveway
not at all at ease with me
or the open door
but he was too limpy to run
and too starving to not get at
whatever food he could.

So I prepared two bowls of kibble
set them down in slow motion
slowly stepped back
switched off the kitchen lights
and stood silently in the dark

I could hear the feral kitten eating
& in a few moments
I could hear two sets of chewing-
the starving old Tom
was in the dark kitchen
with his young cat friend
they ate fast and furiously
after three days of being holed up
somewhere waiting out the big storm
they were starving

Then they left together-
I never saw the banged up old Tom again
but the feral kitten was back the next night
alone, for his regular meal with us.

I can't help but imagine that
the feral kitten met up with that
banged up old Tom cat and somehow- somewhere, for reasons unknown to me
they exchanged essential cat values
and the feral kitten lead his friend
to my kitchen for food.

I like to think that wild animals
have noble hearts and discerning minds
and are not indifferent
to the plight of others
The feral kitten shared a
valuable opportunity
and must have somehow convinced
that banged up old Tom
to limp along with him
to where food could be had
in a cool place

how did the old hobo cat
meet the Feral kitten ??
what trust bond did they create? ?
what did they share during the storm?


 

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