I have told you about my father's cat that he calls Cat. We visited my father the weekend before Thanksgiving and got a glimpse of Cat. Remember I told you that my father didn't really want a cat. That he's only feeding it because of the challenge of getting Cat to trust him. Well, we got to my father's house and he told us he wanted us to see his cat. He got a plate of table scraps and told us to watch as he went out onto the carport to call Cat. Cat is very feral. He was hungry and wanted the food that was being offered, but he could see us watching from inside the house. My father (the one who doesn't want a cat, right?) is on his knee holding the plate of food out and cooing..."Hello pretty. Come eat. Pretty baby, I'm not going to trick you" etc). The cat really is a pretty cat. He was afraid of us but he wanted food so as he approached my father he would talk to him then growl and slowly move forward then talk to my father and then growl again. I explained to my father that he was experiencing an internal conflict and the growling was not really aggression as much as his way of dealing with wanting food but being afraid.

So I told my father that I would bring him some good cat food - the food he had was gone by now and I had some that hadn't been eaten before Hobbes was put on a diet. We met at my cousin's house for Thanksgiving and I gave my father about 10 lbs of premium cat food as well as several cans of Little Friskies. When I talked to Daddy that night he told me that Cat was gone. He didn't know where he was. Daddy went to my brother's house on Friday and didn't return until Sunday and again Cat was missing. On Monday Cat returned and daddy thought that he'd offer him a real treat of canned food. He told me that Cat really did like the food. Apparently about three hours later Cat returned asking for more food so Daddy gave him a bowl of the dry food. Daddy said to me, "I thought cats would only eat until they were full. This cat eats every morsel I put in the bowl for him". I explained that Cat was not used to having food. He was more accustomed to always being hungry and that until he realized that food would always be there for him he will eat everything in sight.

Fast-forward another week and I ask Daddy how Cat is doing. Again Daddy says "I really don't have a cat" then he follows that with, "But let me tell you what Cat has done!"

It seems that Cat is now taking his meals inside the house. Apparently Daddy somehow accidentally left the wooden door and screen door into the house open one day as he was preparing Cat's food. Cat decided to come in and look around. Daddy watched as Cat walked into the kitchen, looked into the family room and dining room before running outside. Soon cat was staying and eating inside. Last night I learned that Daddy had gone into the study to get something while Cat was eating and when he returned Cat was missing. He looked in the family room, the dining room and living room. No Cat. He was walking down the hallway in search of Cat when Cat came strolling out of my father's bedroom. I told my father that Cat was just checking the three bedrooms to see which bed he'd rather sleep on. For some reason Daddy didn't respond to that.

Copyright © Julie Cook
December 12, 2002