15 December 2001
Subject: Our Low-Tech Cat
Dear Ones,
Yes, yes, you already know.....I
don't need to remind you.... it's Saturday and time to take another
marble out of the jar.
Well, since I don't have to remind
you of the passage of time, let me tell you about Cali our low-tech,
high-maintenance cat.
I should tell you at the outset
that I don't hate cats..... I just prefer dogs. But since Leavon likes cats,
it seems we always have more cats around the house than dogs.
A couple of years ago, our pastor
was moving out of the parsonage next to our church to a new home a couple of
miles from town. One day at an informal gathering at the church, he told all
the ladies present about a stray Calico cat who had taken up residence
around the parsonage and who would run into the church every time someone
would leave the church door open. Since he was moving and had other cats,
himself, the pastor thought it would be nice if someone else
"adopted" this cat and took it to their home.
One by one the ladies of the church
filed out and not one of them opted to take the cat. Well, as you might have
guessed, Leavon stood there outside the door until everyone had departed
hoping against hope that no one would take the cat. I think she had already
decided that we needed a new cat at our house..... after all, we had just lost
our last cat to the coyotes who roam the fields near our farm.
On the way home that day, Leavon
named the cat, Cali. Now, I'm sure you realize, as I do, that when your
pet gets named, it becomes one of the family.... and in the long run it is
certain to cost you a whole lot of money... for catfood, vet bills, etc. Yep,
just as I thought, Cali turned out to be a high-maintenance cat.
What I didn't reckon for, however,
was Cali being a low-tech cat. I had been conditioned to believe that cats
were always smarter than dogs. After all, they have been known to outsmart
mice, birds, and even some people. In fact, some cats have been taught to do
all sorts of tricks... but not the one we adopted.
That brings me to the point. If
cats are so darn smart, why then didn't Cali learn how to ask for food.... or
whatever, rather than tearing the screen off my back door to get our
attention. The other cats we had earlier all seemed to just sit at the back
door waiting to be fed, but not Cali. At about 5 a. m. every morning, Cali
would leap up on the screen door and shake it until she aroused us and we came
out with her food.
Fussing at her did no good.
Pointing out to her the doorbell button did no good. Showing her the big
school bell with its rope hanging down right beside our door did no good.
Nothing seemed to work for this low-tech cat of ours except jumping up on our
screen door and shaking it like heck.
After several months of this
morning ritual, the screen on the door was torn to shreds and became such an
embarrassment that we had to take it down. It was then that Leavon said,
"Well, I guess we will have to get the door re-screened. "My answer
to her went something like this, "Do you know how the people in charge of
an insane asylum determine when to release the inmates? They turn on the
faucet in their cells and when the water begins to run all over the floor....
they give the inmates a mop. Those inmates who turn off the faucets, and then
mop up the floor, are released. The ones who try to mop up the water while the
faucet is still turned on and the water running are kept there." 'Nough
said!!
Needless to say, we have not yet
replaced the screen door.... and I don't expect we will as long as we have
this low-tech, high-maintenance cat living at our house.
Screen Door Score:
Calico cat - 1
Calico cat - 1
Ladners - 0
Have a great day and may all your
Saturdays be special.
Don
P. S. Cali must have gotten
the word about me being mildly upset with her. For the past couple of mornings
she has caught a mouse and left it just outside our back door. Maybe our
low-tech cat is "catching on" after all.
Cali Waiting for Stomach to be Rubbed