MY TAKE
By Mark McGee
A few mornings ago I was awakened by a horrible and disturbing sound.
There was a pounding on my back door accompanied by ragged moans of desperation.
When I went to the door I noticed something was hitting the bottom of my door with all of the force it could muster.
I wasn’t prepared for what I was going to see when I opened the door. A large ginger cat was in the depths of misery. He or she had lost her ears in a bloody fight many months ago and had disappeared from my gathering of wayward cats who eat on my carport on a semi-regular basis.
I had given this one up for dead. When I saw it on the carport it appeared to be close to death from starvation. I filled the food bowl, my ritual every morning and late night, and this cat ate like it had never been fed before.
If it had still been at my house later in the day I was going to call animal control, but it was gone. I haven’t seen it since.
There is a small ginger cat that took up residence at my house a couple of years ago. Wherever it is, when my car reaches the driveway, it is running to my back door. She usually sleeps on one of my cars. On really cold nights she has apparently found an alternate location.
Despite feeding and watering it for all of this time I can still not get near enough to touch it. I don’t know who mistreated it earlier in its life, but it is never going to completely trust a human again.
The roster of cats changes all the time at my house. I know that at night the dinner bowl is sometimes frequented by a possum.
One, a white cat, is always spotless. It sits serenely on the edge of the carport some mornings waiting for food. Another one, a black and gray mix of fur, looks like it has fought every cat it has met and seldom won. I can picture it in a catnip bar telling war stories.
A lot of people are surprised I like cats. I have a house cat that was once a stray. She adopted me almost more than I adopted her.
Thank goodness she did. She is smart and cute with a little bit of a mean streak. She is a center of calm for me each day, something we all need.
If you don’t have a pet, think about getting one. They are good for both your physical health and mental well-being.
With financial situations the way they are too many pets are being turned loose or taken to shelters. These animals only want to be loved and cared for.
If you are confident you can make the commitment then do it. I bet you won’t regret it.
