The Cat

Cats and I - well, I won't say we've never gotten along, but they haven't been a presence in my life the way that dogs have. Plus, my mother was allergic to them so I had very little interaction with cats as a kid. But I seem to have acquired a more-or-less constant resident of the gazebo in the back yard: a black-and-white feline which I have named Gazebo. (I have no imagination.)

When my parents were alive we did have a shifting population of ferals in the backyard, in spite of my father's best efforts to eradicate them. Now I'm down to one, and I hope it stays that way; but over the very hot summer I began putting water out for it. Then I started putting out food, which as we all know is an ironclad guarantee that the cat will stick around. Then I added a makeshift shelter as we had a hard rain last week. As far as I know the cat has not yet used it, but the nights are cold and I worry less knowing there is a warm place available for it. 

Gazebo still won't come near me, and occasionally hisses when I show up with food, the little ingrate. But it's rather nice to have a semi-pet, and at least I don't have to clean the litter box this way. I still don't know whether Gazebo is male or female, but I am hoping he/she will become more comfortable with me over the next few months. Meanwhile Gazebo continues its reign as Monarch of the Backyard.  

Labels: Kitty