We don't have a cat. But we do have several furry neighborhood friends.
We'll sit out on the back deck or the front porch, and eventually one of them is bound to walk up to say hello and stay for a lap sit or a pet-and-purr. We have no idea how sanitary this is, but we enjoy it because it gives us our cat fix, tiding me over until the day we decide we can manage the responsibility of our own (but mostly, I'm just waiting for Joel to cave).
We've taken to naming these kitties with mostly uninspired titles, like Blacky or Heathcliff, but I think our favorite - both name and cat - is Fritzy.
Fritzy is basically the Don Corleone of 11th Ave. You never quite know what he's up to, and though he can be quite tender and loving, I know he's probably up to something sinister which undoubtedly plays out in the occasional growl/scream fests we've heard in the middle of the night. In the last year or so, I think he's scared away most of the other cats from visiting us. He also pees on things without the usual modesty of covering it up, probably just to show who's boss or mark territory like a dog would. (He peed on our deck a couple years ago, right in front of me! I furiously shooed him away and didn't see him for the rest of the summer.) He's also very sneaky. On Sunday I was weeding around a bush in the front yard for about 5 minutes when suddenly he pounced out of it. How had I not seen him?
But most of the time, he's sweet and we look forward to seeing him.
On Friday morning, Joel found a little bird, dead at the bottom of the porch steps. This spring a bunch of birds nested on top of the porch posts and, we think, under the eaves. We should have known it would only be a matter of time before they would meet their fate at the paws of one of our friends. We suspected this was Fritzy's doing but weren't completely sure.
Then yesterday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch, reading, when suddenly I heard a light thud, followed by some rustling leaves just outside the window. I looked and saw Fritzy shimmying up the wisteria, working his way to the top of the porch post. I knocked on the window to get his attention, which was about all I got. He looked at me with as much of a "so what?" look as a cat could give, continued up and disappeared. I came outside to see where he went and pointlessly scolded, "FRITZ-y!" as I watched his tail whip out of sight under the eaves. Then he turned around and he looked at me with an evil gaze.
We'll sit out on the back deck or the front porch, and eventually one of them is bound to walk up to say hello and stay for a lap sit or a pet-and-purr. We have no idea how sanitary this is, but we enjoy it because it gives us our cat fix, tiding me over until the day we decide we can manage the responsibility of our own (but mostly, I'm just waiting for Joel to cave).
We've taken to naming these kitties with mostly uninspired titles, like Blacky or Heathcliff, but I think our favorite - both name and cat - is Fritzy.
Fritzy is basically the Don Corleone of 11th Ave. You never quite know what he's up to, and though he can be quite tender and loving, I know he's probably up to something sinister which undoubtedly plays out in the occasional growl/scream fests we've heard in the middle of the night. In the last year or so, I think he's scared away most of the other cats from visiting us. He also pees on things without the usual modesty of covering it up, probably just to show who's boss or mark territory like a dog would. (He peed on our deck a couple years ago, right in front of me! I furiously shooed him away and didn't see him for the rest of the summer.) He's also very sneaky. On Sunday I was weeding around a bush in the front yard for about 5 minutes when suddenly he pounced out of it. How had I not seen him?
But most of the time, he's sweet and we look forward to seeing him.
On Friday morning, Joel found a little bird, dead at the bottom of the porch steps. This spring a bunch of birds nested on top of the porch posts and, we think, under the eaves. We should have known it would only be a matter of time before they would meet their fate at the paws of one of our friends. We suspected this was Fritzy's doing but weren't completely sure.
Then yesterday afternoon, I was sitting on the couch, reading, when suddenly I heard a light thud, followed by some rustling leaves just outside the window. I looked and saw Fritzy shimmying up the wisteria, working his way to the top of the porch post. I knocked on the window to get his attention, which was about all I got. He looked at me with as much of a "so what?" look as a cat could give, continued up and disappeared. I came outside to see where he went and pointlessly scolded, "FRITZ-y!" as I watched his tail whip out of sight under the eaves. Then he turned around and he looked at me with an evil gaze.
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