It’s Just The Way Things Are

ANIMALS AND I GET ALONG WELL. Dogs, Cats, Squirrels, Birds, etc. will come right up to me as if we were old friends. I’m not knowingly doing anything make them approach me. I don’t think that I look or smell like a meal. I don’t get it. I’m not complaining, mind you, but it’s just unusual I’ve been told. It’s been like this all my life.

When I was a kid I used to walk to school and it was not rare for me to show up with a dozen dogs walking along with me. The nuns didn’t like that.

A few years ago I visited an Alpaca Ranch (?) and the beasts ignored everyone else there and followed me around like I was the Pied Piper. The Ranch Person (?) said that she had never seen anything like that before. I still think that one of those Alpacas was coming on to me. I had to tell her that I had a strict rule about never dating outside of my own species.

This morning it happened again, not with a bunch of Alpacas, but with a cat.

As I pulled into my Gimp Spot at St. Arbucks my headlights illuminated a yellow tabby cat sitting on the far side of the parking lot. Mine was not the only car moving through the lot. By the time I was in my space the cat was standing in front of my car.

I got out of the car. The cat didn’t move. It “Meowed” once. I answered with, “Hi, Kitty Cat.” It tried to follow me through the door. I don’t think the staff inside would have thanked me if I had let the cat come in.

The cat stayed outside. i was inside. I figured that was it. End of story. Nah. Life doesn’t work that way.

I sat down, started writing this and began sipping my coffee. A couple of minutes later I turned and looked out the window. The cat was sitting out there watching me. It was just on the other side of the glass, waiting patiently. Cats are good at that.

I thought that, perhaps, I should have the Barista give me a “Pup Cup” – a tiny paper cup filled with whipped cream – a treat they give to Drive-Thru customers who have their dogs with them. I would then take it out to the cat. I dropped that idea when I realized that if I did that I might as well draw up the adoption papers.

Taking on a pet at this point in my life would be a mistake. We travel a lot and I don’t like boarding animals anywhere. It traumatizes them and I can’t ask anyone to “Pet-Sit” That tends to traumatize the human.

Another reason to say “No” to a pet is that, while I am an animal comfortable person, Dawn is not. She did not grow up with pets and she really does not like cats. The cats know that about her and, when we are visiting someone who has a cat, the cat will jump into her lap the moment she sits down. They do it out of spite.

The biggest reason I don’t want another animal in my life is – I don’t want to bear the sorrow of losing them. I’ve done that too many times and it is always like like a death in the family.

I know that is hard for some people to understand, but even now, decades after the fact, I still think about and miss that trio of cats that overran my life long ago.

Sorry, yellow tabby cat. I wish you luck, but I can’t let you in. I just can’t.

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