Cat Wisdom

Over a month ago, this beautiful cat showed up at my door. Well, actually, at my cats’ door, and invited himself in. I wasn’t aware of him until I came home from the studio for a snack and he raced by. Luckily, he had not left any calling cards.

I didn’t feed him right away, thinking he belonged to a neighbor and not wanting to encourage him. But eventually, my soft heart won and I filled a blue bowl with dry cat food just to see how hungry he was. Very hungry. And thirsty too.

He seemed sweet except toward my alpha cat whom he went after relentlessly. I had to close the cat door. Now what?

We have a local list serve similar to Craig’s List and so I decided to post a note there. The next morning, I eagerly looked at the list to see my posting and found a picture of the cat, but on another woman’s listing. Same cat. Same neighborhood.

This cat is clearly living creatively in a complex world! There must be some wisdom in his survival story: explore all options; stay connected to multiple people who care for you. I’ve watched him in the fields and he’s a great hunter, so add another tool to the list: be willing to take action on your own behalf.

But the aggressiveness toward my cats bothered me.

I asked around and learned about Oasis, a local non-profit organization with a mission to spay and neuter feral cats. Yesterday, they delivered my trap along with some smelly cat food. This morning, I set it out and found the cat waiting for me. A few dry morsels let him right into the long, skinny cage where a trigger was supposed to trip the door.

Was supposed to.

This cat cleverly stepped over the trigger, in and out numerous times as I jiggled the back door knob from the inside. Not once did he put his weight on the bar which would close the door.

I’m not sure what plan B is…maybe I’ll have to rig a line and trip the door myself. Meanwhile, add one more bit of cat wisdom to the list: go after what you want by stepping lightly.

p.s.   I called the “other woman”. Sure enough, she’s been feeding him for over a year now and has named him Frodo. Well, Frodo, what next?