Meet the cat burglar and the other neighborhood kitties
A funny thing happened yesterday–a cat burglar, at least that’s what I call her. Her name is Hershey–a sweet and pushy little black and white cat with a weird-looking eye– and she’s been trying to get into the house for a while. You see, we often leave the sliding doors open into our fenced backyard so Buddy the cat can go wander around out there. But he’s not the only cat who likes to hang out in our yard.
There are 3 others, as a matter of fact. 2 of them live catty corner (ha ha!) from our backyard–and one of them looks just like Buddy. And the other is this little Hershey. For a while, we weren’t sure if she had a home or not. This was rather worrisome, as it was cold and snowy outside. But then she showed up sporting a snazzy red collar with a heart tag that said “Hershey”–which she wasn’t wearing yesterday, I noticed.
Hershey breaks in
She often tries to come into the house, which Buddy does not appreciate in the least.
Yesterday, I sat at my desk on the first floor with the back door open for Buddy and also because it was in the 60s outside. I was deep in concentration when suddenly Buddy came running under my desk, making the strangest noise. I’m not even sure if he came from inside or out. I turned around and there, about 2 feet behind me, lay Hershey all curled up and looking quite satisfied with herself. I burst out laughing!
As I walked over to her, she started to purr. I scratched between her ears and then told her she had to leave. Then she hissed at me. But I insisted. I knew she understood what I was saying as she slowly slunk toward the door. I opened it all the way and told her she knew what she had to do and that she could pretend it was her idea if she wanted to. She did–she walked past the door, sniffed the boots that sat there, then turned around and walked out. I closed the door.
I know she’ll be back, though. But for Buddy’s sake, we won’t let her in. (Plus I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to her.)
Yesterday was all about the cats
Later, after the cat burglar incident, when I went I my walk, I was listening to Martha Beck’s book Finding Your Own North Star. In the book, Martha tells a story about trusting your inner cat (quoting one of her clients):
‘I felt like I was walking along a razorback ridge on a high, high mountain, in the middle of the night, surrounded by heavy fog. One wrong step in either direction, and I’d fall a thousand miles. And thenonly way I could tell where I was going was that there was a little blakc cat walking just ahead of me. If I listed for the sound of the cat’s feet, I’d know where to step,’ Corbin smiled. ‘Cats have very quiet feet.’
The cat, of course is Corbin’s personification of his intuition.
Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck
“Fog” by Carl Sandburg
I was also thinking about this poem: The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.
The cat poem–or It’s worked so far!
The cat rolls in, Silent like the fog. Settles for a nap comfy in my home. Do I feel her presence, hear her silent footsteps behind me? Not at all. I'm focused like a lighhouse beam. Navigating my way through the mysteries of Photoshop. But do I wish I knew what was going on behind me-- Even when I'm not looking? Yes--of course! But I'm not omniscient, not even close. And yet I take one step at a time, trusting, like Mr. Magoo, that the beam will appear beneath me when I take that next step. Not even aware that I'm stepping into thin air and so find myself unsurprised when I land, like a cat, on my feet.
One more Kat–
Kat Apel hosts Poetry Friday this week–and introduces her newly published book Bird in the Herd! Be sure to check it out and see what other poets have to say this Friday (Ok–I’m writing this on Saturday, but it’s still Friday in my heart.)
I do tend to write about cats from time to time. And I’m so happy to be sharing my home with Buddy the cat. Here’s a post about the some of the wisdom Buddy has shared with me.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Wishing you a week of mystery and adventure even if you’re mostly at home like me.
xoxo
Awwwwww. What a sweet little girl. Congratulations on a new best friend…who for sure will be back on her quiet little feet.
You’re right–she snuck in again when my housemate was downstairs. And I know she’ll be back–she has made up her mind that mi casa es su casa. Good thing she’s so darn cute!
I am convinced cats know where they are not supposed to go – and consequently make every effot to get there! With a name like Hershey, how could she not be welcome?😋
I think you’re right about that. She is sweet–and very persistent! I knew a while ago that she had decided to hang out in the house and was just biding her time for the right moment.
Funny thing. I am so not a cat person, but all the neighborhood cats LOVE my yard. The problem is that I am a bird person. We have a sunny “catty corner” where the cats gather to stalk my beloved birds.
Oh, no! I’ll bet the cats like that–a sunny place to rest and stalk sounds like the perfect spot for a cat. We have a bird feeder, too, but the cats were hanging around before we put it up, and I haven’t seen them chasing the birds–although they do like to chase the squirrels. To me, it’s a whole cat soap opera happening in the backyard. It’s kind of like “Rear Window” but with cats and chickens (they live in the yard behind ours).
I love the final stanza of your poem and all this cat goodness! I’m forever delighted to read Sandburg’s poem and it had been a while since I’d done so. So thanks for sharing that as well. I’m captivated by the idea of following your inner cat.
Thanks, Molly. It was a catty day that day. Hershey wandered in on Sunday, too, when my roommate was downstairs. She didn’t notice her either until she saw her laying on the floor. It’s going to be an interesting spring! I like that inner cat image–I’m still pondering that one!
I am a cat person, but my son is allergic so we don’t have one (any more). Are you allergic to Buddy but not Hershey? What kind is Buddy?
Here’s to landing on your feet!
I meant allergic to Hershey but not Buddy!
I’m not allergic to Buddy. I used to be allergic to all cats–except Siamese (apparently they have different dander and some people are not allergic to them, like me, and other people are only allergic to them). I also take herbal antihistamines every day to deal with some autoimmune issues–so I’m sure that helps. But I’m really glad that I can live with him–I love having a cat around. But I petted Hershey a couple of times and, even though I washed my hands as soon as I came in, I was all coughy and sneezy–and we were outside! So who knows–they’re both mixed breed cats.
What herbal antihistamines do you take? Nettles? Quercetin?
I wanted to tell you that my family and I played Pie Face (on my birthday) because I read about it on your blog. We had a lot of fun… Thanks!! 🙂
One is a combo of those two plus vitamin c, and the other is more anti inflammatory, I think- it’s mostly boswellia.
And that’s awesome that you played pie face- it’s a very silly game. I’m glad you had fun!