TUXEDO CAT
His name was Kyle. I called him Tuxedo cat. Long before I got my cat Abby, he had been hanging out in my yard, napping under the foliage and pooping in my raised garden beds. This was his territory and he and Abby had a few dust ups over who was in charge. At first they just eyeballed each other through the glass of my screen door, but when Abby managed to escape from my fenced yard she would chase him out from under my car or any other sanctuary he was trying to establish in my yard. Their last fight left Abby with a slash on her nose and a trip to the vet for antibiotics. Kyle would run away when I got anywhere near him. I tried speaking softly to him and moving slowly but he was shy and didn’t trust me. After he and Abby began getting into actual fights I was happy my presence sent him on his way. THE NATURE OF LIFE AND DEATH This week I found Kyle in my yard, or what was left of him. He had been attacked at night, probably by a coyote, and there were some missing parts. I could still identify his black fluffy body with white chest and white paws, but it was painful for me to see how terrible his demise had been. I have never seen anything quite as ghoulish and disturbing happen to an animal I know. I didn’t want to look too closely but I had no choice. I wanted to cover up the poor creature so that he wouldn’t be exposed to the dog walkers and their pets that pass by my house in the morning. This was nature in the raw, the stark reality of survival of the fittest. It’s not something I see every day in my quiet little neighborhood, or anything I ever want to witness again. Now I know up close and personal the reality of coyotes, or whatever predator it was, and the cruel look of what they can do. There have been sightings of a mountain lion in my neighborhood as well, and evidently another cat was killed in a similar way the day after Kyle met his fate. It’s dangerous out there. Nature can be brutal. This issue of the food chain hierarchy and the constant struggle of life and death is one of the many questions I ponder about the nature of nature. It’s why I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to make Abby an indoor cat and also a reminder of the fact that Abby is a predator too. I have been keeping her inside ever since she killed a bird. When I saw Abby with the bird in her mouth, I came face to face with the fact that, despite her furry cuteness, she is as much a predator as the animals I want to protect her from. A BLESSING FOR KYLE I put a notice on the Nextdoor Neighbor website and the woman who lives next door called the animal shelter. They came and picked up the remains. Later Kyle’s owner came by. We had never met before although he lives only a block away. I shared what I knew about the attack. That’s when I heard his name for the first time. Just knowing his real name makes me feel closer to Kyle. He is no longer a random neighborhood cat digging in my freshly amended veggie garden. I know that he was loved by his family. My housemate suggested that we have a little blessing ceremony for him. She lit a bundle of sage and we spread the smoke around the spot where he probably took his last breath. Rest in peace Kyle.
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Leslie Masona woman in search of her post-retirement future Guess what! By subscribing, you get notices about the latest Little Old Lady with Cats posts sent to your mailbox!
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(from an entry posted on 5/1/2015) “I definitely fit some of the characteristics of a little old lady with cats: Retired - check, Single - check, Like to knit - check, Have cats - check. . .I do not want to get stuck in my Little Old Lady persona, however. In fact, this blog is a risk taking experiment in exploring and redefining what I want my retired life to look like.” Categories
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