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November 24, 2003
The door into summer?
I stumbled across an entry on Bear left on unnamed road entitled Winter of our feline discontent which reminded me of the Robert Heinlein SF book "The door into summer". The introduction to the book explains the title - Heinlein wrote it in New England over a winter sharing a house with seventeen doors to the outdoors with a cat. The cat was convinced that one of the doors opened into summer ...
When my wife and I moved to the house we currently occupy we had no cat. Two days after we moved in we met the REAL owner. She moved in, demanded to know what we intended to do about her feeding requirements and has settled us nicely into a routine that suits her perfectly.
She has one trait that can be difficult. Ever tried typing around a cat? Paddy is extremely talkative and in no doubt at all that the humans in her life are there for her convenience. She is also very endearing and knows just how to twist people round her paws. Like Heinlein's cat, at this time of the year, she is also convinced that we have hidden the sun and deliberately arranged the rain.
Pratchett, in a book entitled "The unadulterated cat" gives a wonderful word picture of the moment the first cat moved in on humans ...
"There you are, brow ridges like a set of terraces and just getting to grips with this new thing called 'fire', on the food chain for almost every kind of predator, and in walks this miniature version of the worst of the predators, rubs itself against your legs and starts to make this rumbling sound ....."
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Cats are not everyones favourite pet. I must admit that I have never set out to have one as a pet. But, I have had a number attach themselves to me and each of them has enriched my experience of life in some way. There have been tabbies, tortoise shells and black and white moggies. One tabby was a cross with something definitely not domestic - he was bigger than a normal cat and had pointed tufts to his ears. But he moved in and soon had our dogs, pet rabbits and other assorted livestock firmly under his control. Heaven help any outside dog that crossed his path. He gave way to nothing and dealt out punishment even the vet found difficult to believe.
One of the black and whites loved travelling in a car. He would drape himself across the back of the drivers seat and comment loudly on the passing scene - dogs, other cats, motorists and his favourite, pedestrians. Oh, and he liked to play with dogs. The bigger the better. He could clear the vets surgery waiting room in seconds. Not many dogs came back for a second round.
Then we had a silver tabby. She was also a talker. She moved in as a kitten, and took about twenty seconds to put both our cross breed course haired terrier and the golden spaniel bitch so firmly in their places that they never argued with her again. If they went walkies on leads, she was right there with them. Other dogs only tried to chase her once, MacGinty, the terrier, took care of any interlopers. As far as he was concerned she was one of "his" family.
Paddy talks to us. Sometimes its like a Monty Python skit, much "Nyang patang! Patang, patang". This can be interspersed with "Meeyup", "meyowp", and variations in sound, volume and tone. There are times when it sounds like Russian. She can definitely pronounce "Nyet!" And means it! After a while you get the message. Especially as a great deal is conveyed by tone and body language.
Living with a cat is never dull. It may be intensely frustrating, it may be limiting, but it can also be amusing and it is certainly an education!
Heinlein's book? Well worth the read, even if you are not a normal SF fan. The cat plays an important part in the story and it has a couple of very interesting twists to the plot. I won't spoil it for those who wish to read it. Enjoy, you won't be dissapointed.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 24, 2003 10:14 PM