A Day at the Cat Show

An very elderly man wearing a black suit and carrying a cane came to the table where all the cat toys, stuffed mice and feathers on sticks were displayed. He looked at our handmade banner in back of us proclaiming us an organization that rescues cats. “I got my cat from a shelter a few years ago,” he said. “He’s black with a little bit of white on his chin. Every time I go upstairs he follows me, follows me all day because he has to know what I’m doing. He sits on the arm of my chair when I watch television and he does a little dance when I open his can of tuna.” He took 2 quarters out of a handful of change that he pulled out of his pocket and carefully placed them on the table to purchase a catnip mouse, that he put back in the same pocket the change came from. Then he just said, “I like him,” and he abruptly walked away.

A little later a another man walked in back of our table to get a closer look at the 6 cats we brought with us, as our little good will ambassadors, two grey and white tigers, an orange tabby, a calico and a pair of older “coon” kittens. “I wish I could have another one,” he said almost to himself. Then he turned toward me and said, “My landlord said no pets, but he owed me a big favor. So when a little stray kitten showed up at the door I asked him to make an exception. Well, he didn’t really show up at the door. I found him crying loudly in the bushes in front of the building. It was very tiny-- should have been with its mother, really. My landlord said, “’you’ve been a great tenant. Just make sure you get it spayed.’” “My wife wasn’t sure at first. She never had a cat and thought they just lived outside and came to eat and then left you alone. But the kitten, it took right to her. It would cry outside the door when my wife took a shower. Then she’d put the towel around her neck and open the door and pick up the kitten. It would snuggle on her shoulder and knead the towel. Got so it knows the sound of her car from mine pulling into the driveway and runs after her everywhere she goes. She used to sleep late in the morning and just hated getting up. Now she gets up an hour early every morning to have special time with the cat. Oh, it likes me well enough, but it is just crazy for her. I really would like another one, though.”
visit the shelter where I used to volunteer--- http://www.catsontheweb.org/