A Most Traumatic Day.

I'm a cat person.  I make no apology for it.  Dogs & I are not sympatico.  Now the MOTH used to be a dog person  ~ a long time ago, before he met me but we have only ever owned one dog because, like most women, the bulk of care fell to me & I find dogs just too much.

Over time the MOTH has come to tolerate the plethora of cats in his life but it was Issi who turned him into a cat man.  Issi was an alpha male, protective of his person [me] to a fault, incredibly loyal, smart & affectionate.  Some animals who come into your life are just special.  It is an honour to know them.  Issi was that cat.  Losing him was devastating.

It was the MOTH who said to get another cat.  In fact he said to get 2 cats & though we were all still grieving Issi one does not look a gift horse in the mouth & so the girls & I went cat hunting while the iron was hot.

The MOTH gave us a long list of instructions.  He had very definite ideas about the sort of cats he wanted.  Luckily we did what he meant, not what he said because he was quite rattled by the 2 we finally brought home.  Not what he was expecting. They were older kittens, semi~long~haired, timid, & being Ragdoll Xs, very immature.  But they were exactly right for our house being affectionate & docile & happy just to be with their people, which is nice because we are home a lot.

 Marlow was incredibly timid & once bonded to me wouldn't let me out of his sight.  It drove us all to distraction while he matured & grew up a little into a very confident, social cat.  His brother is still very skittish around strangers.  Even now, neither cat is very far from me.  Oh, they go off on their own but never so far as they can't see & hear me & know exactly what I am doing & they expect, as a matter of course, that they will be petted any time I happen to wander past, even if I have to wait for them to reach me.

Our routine in the mornings is predictable ~ & we all know how cats like routine. I am almost always first up & depending on whether one or both or neither cat has slept with us cart cats downstairs with me because the first order of the day is to feed them.  Only then can I proceed to make coffee.

As soon as the cats have finished eating they proceed to the verandah door & wait to be let out.  The thing is, no matter how early I get up they are never allowed out until it is fully light, which just now, is just before I take the MOTH down to his boat.  By the time  I return they have finished their business & are waiting to greet me @ the pathway before settling into their daytime positions: Kirby on the shadecloth over the western garden, Marlow on one of the verandah chairs.  On wet, cold days they are usually back inside before I get home.

Yesterday, Kirby greeted me enthusiastically but there was no sign of Marlow.  Not worried.  Very occasionally he gets distracted & arrives a little later & I will find him happily ensconced in one of his usual possies. I called him around 9ish, not having seen him but no cat arrived.  My prayer partner arrived shortly after that & we settled in for a couple of hours of serious prayer.  I called Marlow again when she left.  No cat. By now I was starting to worry.  Understand:  this cat never does this!  He is constantly underfoot, moving when I move, always there, somewhere in my vicinity, always squeaking & chirring to me.

By the time the MOTH arrived home I was seriously concerned. My imagination did not help.  I was having trouble keeping the most awful thoughts @ bay: crabbers who put cats in their pots; snakes, hawks, foxes; council trap.  The thought of my marvellous, timid cat alone, hurt, frightened & wondering why his people didn't come for him was excruciating.  I walked all over our point calling for him for hours. The MOTH, with his nice big voice, joined me.  The whole neighbourhood must have known we had a missing animal!

It got dark.  The boys dinner time had come & gone ~ no Marlow.  Marlow is the cat whose mind is constantly on his belly.  For him not to arrive early for his food has never happened.  He starts an hour or so before he knows it's dinner time in an effort to persuade me he is literally starving to death & how could I be so cruel as to deny him food? 

I shot off an email to the council pound.  I prayed.  I went out in the dark & called again ~ & again.  No Marlow.  It was heartbreaking.  There was nothing else I could do but the thought of shutting down the house for the night & trying to sleep without knowing where my cat was was agonizing.

I know some people would say: It's just a cat...an attitude I do not understand.  Our cats are family.  We are responsible for their care & well being. Taking good care of our animals is not only the right thing to do, it is the godly thing to do, so it was with a very heavy heart I began turning off all the lights.  It was then I heard a thump on the verandah.  A very skittish Marlow was slinking towards the door, tail down, belly to the ground, anxious to reach me & be let inside before he was shut out for the night.

I don't know where he was hiding.  Somewhere close, too frightened to come out, but he must have heard us calling & calling. We are so relieved to have him home!  So very grateful for God's care & provision for him ~ but I never want to have another day like that. Ever.