16 04
Birth of a passion for cats
Despite some meetings with our friends belonging to the cat family, sharing the daily life has really begun with a black hairball bought in the pet shops of the banks of Megisserie in Paris. Lecture in the university cancelled led to some walk near the Seine and to the meeting with the one who will share my life during 19 years, Saxo the infernal ! And yet, he looked so quiet and cute…. among his fellow cats, just a cunning stratagem to be adopted.
And here we got in the underground for his first journey in a coach. Saxo in an old cardboard box constantly mewing just to set the mood in the public transport. No, it was not another attraction… We very nearly got some money!
After some essential purchases, arrival at home to discover the new territory to be conquered.
The passion for cats was born despite the numerous tricks to be done…. The first guests witnessed a dive in the dish of meat just put on the table. What a cordial welcome!
Days passed more or less in a quiet atmosphere punctuated with some cat jokes :
Nose stuck on the ice of the freezer, starting of the answering machine with call at 5.00 A.M walking on the phone keys, wallpaper destroyed by dint of climbing up wall, loop in the pans full of boiling water, fall from the balcony looking at the cats of the neighbours too closely, broken Christmas tree, various things broken, clothes taken from the lines, sofa redecorated in the”dump” way, cupboards tidied in Saxo’s way, a painter in his spare time with his tail that catched on fire one day with no electricity and with candle light and I forget a lot ….Most of all, don’t be obsessive with tidiness and love cats!
A year and a half after Saxo’s arrival, Agathe (a turtle shell cat) entered on cue…..After some spits and a few days of mutual watching, adoption of the uninvited guest and a complicity that lasted about fifteen years of a quiet life punctuated with memorable examinations at the vet’s, peaceful days and other ones more eventful, travels and well-appreciated holidays in the country.
By the way, our two friends died there……..Because a house moving gave them the position of country cats after the one of town cats with the advantages and the drawbacks of such a change.
So a new house to explore but above all a garden and the boundless space…with friends and enemies.
Once the interior visited and assimilated, walk outside, the exploration circle expanding progressively. There, pleasant meetings with animals and more agressive ones with the fellow cats of the neighbourhood, even with the local bipeds who generally don’t appreciate the cat family even just rambling… So many negative pictures promoted in the unconscious of people as regards cats and so much stupidity and ignorance from some people !.
Therefore we were really upset when Agathe got intentionally run over and then, we also mistrust our fellow creatures : human beings ! We become like cats. We observe and mistrust these creatures capable of evil ( trap, poisoning; dirty trick by sinister, wicked character ).
But no discouragement, cats of fortune are there ….to wink at you. Either a bakhpacker only staying a few days in your garden observing the surrounding ; friend or enemy ? There are some cats in this house, so probably friends. Some given and well-appreciated croquettes are the proof of that. Or a passer-by that finally decides to stay a few years. So, we adopt them because we love these animals.
Clafoutis crossed our threshold one morning of autumn. Here came a grey spotted cat having the look of nothing. A little investigation round the corner to know if it was a stray cat and of course , nay. So we kept Miss Nasty for what a nature!! We must love cats to bear such an excited, unpredictable cat that constantly moans and spits. Over nervousness due to a past with little chance and warmth.
We also adopted a big striped tomcat on a 24th December. In an awful weather, we went to the nearest SPA ( society for the prevention of cruelty to animals), just to make a good deed for Christmas. So, Elliot came home and still stays among us as a good-natured cat. He knew the ancestor Saxo that died on a sunny day of January at the age of 19. He lies with Agathe in the garden. But life goes on with a few surprises. On a Wednesday morning, the twin-brother of Elliot (3 times thinner) came in our house mewing….This female cat now called Tara has never left home. One more time, noboby asked for this lovely animal.
We also took in a little cat that was ill, Moïra that spent a winter time among us before leaving for the cats’ paradise. A friendly cat with loving kindness that hardly saw spring time. But so short her life was, it was a happy moment, I think…
Now, a fourth cat shares the house with the other ones. “Saxo the second” for she is all black, a lost soul found in the street, two months old ….Miss Sapho a mischievous cat that found her place.
Four cats surround our dog that more or less manages this mewing company. A place for each of them and they are relatively on good terms despite Miss Nasty’s hysterics.
That’s how the passion for cats has been remaining for years and leads you to daily cartoon-like adventures. Lively atmosphere guaranteed….
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