August 31, 2004

• The Black Cats Of Meadowbrook

  Yesterday I took my car to get it worked on. In Ballard. Across town. When I find a good shop, I stay with it.

  But the point here is that I rode my bike back home, on the Burke-Gilmann trail. The trail goes right next to Gasworks Park, which is a pretty cool place. The grass had just been cut, and the sun was just right, so that all I could think of, gazing across the hilly green velvet was, "Ti-ime for teletubbies! Ti-ime for teletubbies!"

  I spent some time laying around on what used to be a concrete wall, but is now more like a concrete thing that's a foot high. Sat there in the sun. Moved to the shade and sat there, too. And after a while, I became aware that there was a jet-black feral cat by the wall, too, and it wasn't running away or hissing at me.

  When it comes to speaking cat, I'm The Man. In fact, I'm pretty much The Cat, too. It's all about eye contact and body language. Eventually this feral cat was rubbing up against my hand and wanting to lay in my lap. She was a little, ahem, unwashed, so that didn't happen. But the episode reminded me of a cat that's been coming around my house.

  

  For a while this little cat, almost a kitten, would show up around 6pm-ish, wandering through my front yard en route to the alleyway beside my house. It would be a little skittish when I'd open the door, but eventually it was OK with me, and would come over for neck scritches and so forth. This went on for about a week, and then, for another week or so, it didn't come around.

  Then it started showing up around midnight, on my doorstep no less. I'd see its head pop up from below the picture window, right next to where I was watching TV. I'd try not to startle it by opening the door, but that's what usually happened anyway. It'd take a little coaxing to get it over to where I could give it neck scritches and so forth. But there was one important difference this time: It was wearing a collar. The collar had a tag that said "Tuck." At least, I hope that's what it said.

  

  I figured the owners had had some kind of scare, and decided to put a collar on their cat. This went on for another week or so. And then I'd start seeing the cat without the collar. Then with.

  Well, today the mystery was solved:

  

  

  I think they like my yard because it reminds them, in some instinctual way, of the African savannah.

  • 11:03 pm
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