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This page was last updated on: February 11, 2003
Dogs and Cats Teach humans a lesson in humanity. This monthly column will be devoted to ponderable subjects, awaken beauty in unexpected places, explore the experience of mystical communication with animals, rupture violence, speak sweetly of cats and dogs. ...Barbary |
Honoree |
WE MAKE A LIVING BY WHAT WE GET. WE MAKE A LIFE BY WHAT WE GIVE. ************************************************************************** ****************************** HONOREE 1965 - 1980 Honor, bright, You were his kitten For better or for worse. Seafrost eyes, Chocolate ears, Spikey tail. Disguised as Christmas from me You raced across curtain tops, Ricocheted from walls. You scratched his nose, Made him mad. Then you peered into his eyes With your funny Valentine face, Made his heart yours for all time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE LIFE OF HONOREE, VALENTINE CAT It was almost Christmas, and I decided to give my love a present he'd have to leave at my apartment on Mentor Avenue. This should work, I thought, along with six year old Mike whistling the Wedding March each time he visited. So on a late autumn, dark-already afternoon Mike and I visited the Mom cat and her little family. We came away with a tiny Chocolate Point bundle. Just as I thought, the man in our lives was instantly smitten by those bright blue eyes! So far, so good. We named her Honoree. (I was reading something about Napoleon at the time.) Baby Honoree entertained us by defying gravity as she sped in circles ever more fast around our tiny apartment living room. At Mike's February birthday party she was the star, posing for pictures with icing on her whiskers. While I was at work and Mike at school, Honoree entertained herself by unrolling all the toilet paper, jiggling door handles while she stood on her hind feet on a adjacent box to get to the forbidden rooms, satisfying her wool fetish by eating our socks. If she saw a picture she'd lick all the shine off. All rubberbands had to be hidden. If she saw a balloon she'd run to get it to eat. No more balloons in our house. Finally, as the results of all that whistling and various other hints, plus a kitten of his own (!) Bill realized he was ours. We got our man, and we four moved to a townhouse. More rooms, with stairs for Honoree to play. Here we brought Lilith, a beautiful slinky Blue Point, into the house. There happened to be a big Blue Point Siamese living two doors away, and he came to visit one day, surprised to see not one but two women! Honoree shunned him, refused to play with him, as did Lily, who always did what Honoree told her. A few weeks later Honoree took on the appearance of a cat with saddle bags. Lily began to grow. We could have sworn they had no contact with Big Blue. Then one day kittens arrived! Honoree, who dominated Lily, cleaned her batch of babies and one by one took them over to Lily's box for Lily to feed and nurture. Poor Lily. Honoree got her figure back and only when the kittens became active and cute would she take one away to play with for a short time, still leaving Lily with all the work. Kittens playing throughout the house was pandamonium all over again, Mentor Avenue multiplied. Although I don't think we ever saw them actually lift off the floor, fly around the wall like Honoree had. We found good homes for them, had the moms spayed, then made another move to a house on Franklin Street with fenced back yard. Here Ms. Fritzenbom (an alias of Honoree's) ate potato chips and dry spaghetti whenever she could snatch them. She liked explore the back yard, but she was afraid of birds, who dived at her. But Honoree turned into a terror when a neighbor Alaskan Malmute came into her yard. I looked down from the kitchen window to see her riding his back like a circus bareback act! Bill and Honoree had a game only the two of them played, hide and seek on the basement stairs. Mike she considered her brother and treated him accordingly. About this time we found another home for Lily. She took her very long stuffed snake with her, her favorite toy, and I liked to think she could bloom now away Honoree's domination. Old friends from Detroit came to visit, who had two small daughters with high pitched voices that all little girls have, when they are running and playing. Unfortunately, one of them happened to be standing near me, and Honoree went into attack mode with her claws on the little girl's legs. Shortly thereafter, Honoree's claws were removed. We always regretted this decision, but it was the only solution we could think of at the time; we certainly did not want to put her down. In Honoree's later years we decided to leave life on land and try life on water. Mike had already left home to see the world. It took us a year to put our plans together, so Honoree at age 12 took her first step onto a sailboat the day we left port. To our surprise she liked her new home. We put up netting so she wouldn't fall overboard and got a huge net to scoop her up if she did. I bought a 9" by 12" shallow Tupperware cake pan for her pot and put a piece of plastic grating to fit for the top. When she used it I just held it over the side under sea water as we were sailing to clean it. Honoree took this big change in stride. We'd gotten her health records in order, so she could enter foreign ports. Once, when we thought to treat her by rowing her to a little deserted island, she cried to get back on the SNOW GOOSE. When in port we were usually the curiosity of harbor cats, who wanted to see just who was down in that screened cabin. Honoree took her leisure sometimes sunning on a cockpit seat cushion. When the ocean was rough on our little 30 foot boat Honoree slept deep down inside my clothes locker. Only once did she get in trouble with a flying mayonaise jar as we fell off the backside of a huge wave. One of Honoree's best snapshots is of her in her birthday party hat entertaining our fellow boaters with cake and ice cream. Several years into Honoree's and our sojourn she fell ill, and we took her to a vet. He gave us the worst news possible. Honoree had cancer. We asked if we could take her home for the weekend before euthansia. That Monday morning will make our hearts turn over anytime we think of it. Grieving when we got back to the marina and aboard the boat what should we hear but a mewing on deck. Out on the forepeak nested in the rope locker was Pig Pen, the marina dirty, white, stray cat. It is my belief that he came to comfort us. And he did. Friends a few docks over eventually adopted him, and we gave him Honoree's bowls, toys, life jacket to have for his own. So Honoree, our Valentine cat, fullfilled her journey on earth. And we all loved her for doing so. #################################################### #################################################### #################################################### ############### Book Review THE INDISPENSABLE CAT Jean-Claude Saures Publisher MJF Books Hardback 191 pp THE INDISPENSABLE CAT is a lavish coffee-table book documenting cat's relationship between history, art and literature. There are full color and black/white illustrations and paintings sure to delight cat lovers. This book would make an elegant gift. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ Book Review THE GIFT OF JAZZY Cindy Adams Publisher St. Martin's $19.95 240 pages Says the author: "This self-centered animal, who is the size of a rat's ass, who is smaller than a toupee, is now used to bones from Gallagher's steakhouse, Poland Springs chilled water, a car and driver, a penthouse that is dog-proofed and the fact that his mother loves him. What he has put me through is what has prompted me to sit down and write this book." This is a love story. It would make a great Valentine's Day gift the person who has or wants a Yorkshire terrier. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<< |
