Our 'Missy' has come into our lives in our 'twilight years' - as a mature 'neutered' survivor of a marital breakdown - separated but saved, nonetheless. A kitten was not a preferred option this time. Our need for a 'point of kill' feline was immediate...only a fully grown, experienced, silent, stealthy guerilla-type marauder would do.
Mice and rats threatened to eat us out of house and home, as we apparently generously (but actually unwillingly and, in fact, quite bitterly) fed them chook food and pasture seed and calf milk powder. Our dog, Muffin, tried valiantly to overpower the enemy, but it was beyond her capabilities to foil their frenzied attacks. She just could not do it alone...and so Missy joined the Fighting Forces...with great gusto and serious success.
We had side-stepped the 'cat' option for many years, due to our beloved feathered friends - who wake us with joyous song each morning. We couldn't handle the thought of a cat stalking our beautiful little Blue Wrens. Do you know them? Fat, round fluffy little bodies with extremely long tail feathers that twitch and turn most expressively - and the male is the most brilliant Blue...like a cloudless, shimmering Summer sky.
We couldn't handle the thought - UNTIL - those adorable 'aviators' decided to attack the mirrors of our highly-prized and loved 10 year old Mercedes Benz sedan...and not just attack, you understand...but actually fertilise the mirrors and doors, car roof and bonnet! Added to the increasing sparrow/chook food onslaught, it was ALL too much. Missy was a welcome wild-life warrior.
Today, the good news is that few birds have been lost - but many mice and rats are meeting their Maker as we speak (did He really create them?). And the even better news is that both Missy the cat and Muffin the dog, just kill them and don't eat them. No...they choose to leave them near our back door to prove they are earning their bed and board. (This 'proof' bit is somewhat questionable as far as 'best' table etiquette goes...but ah-h-h well...a dead mouse is the best mouse...to us!)
Missy cat does indeed 'rule the roost' in both the great outdoors...AND indoors, as well (more on that subject shortly!). She has all but decimated the 'Raiders of the Lost Roost', whilst fully understanding and respecting the sacrosanct rights of 'laying hens'. Chooks and cat alike, appear to have developed a fine 'translation' of their shared 'bok-boks' and myriad 'miaows'. They converse when she's not on the prowl, with much tone variation and innuendo. I can't vouch for the language of 'the eyes' - chooks have such beady eyes (fairly expressionless, I've found) - and cats' eyes can become quite fixed and tigerish when 'on the job'.
The chooks definitely 'get it' that they are not the focus of Missy's unblinking regard and barely definable belly-dragging stalking. And they also embrace playtime with the 'dead' fruits of her labours. I do believe they are as fond of her as chooks are capable of being.
And the 'great indoors'? What can I say? Missy's staff ARE after all, Seniors - in years; in 'pet' experience'; and in questionable wisdom in the kids and pets stakes. You would not think two 'mature movers and shakers/ would allow a cat to take over all of the best seats in the house (at the daily-dining table; on the Lounge; on and in the bed in the Master Bedroom; on the mat in the Bathroom, when the 'smallest room' is occupied!) You would seriously NOT believe this, unless of course, you are also a cat-owner/staff member.
The cat's viewpoint is that it is simply what is right and due to them! Haven't you noticed how you heave yourself up again, just when you had settled comfortably in your favourite chair...because the cat wants to go out...right now! - or in again...right now!
And how else do you react to these furry tyrants who dominate your life? You have a 'melt-down' when they purr passionately and volubly as you hold yourself in amazingly awkward positions in order to keep them comfortable - don't you? The medical explanation is that stroking a pet dramatically slows your heartbeat and blood pressure. The cat loving human's explanation is...'Just Because!'
However you choose to look at it, you must admit - Cats Rule the Roost (indoors and out).
© 2011 Christine Larsen All Rights Reserved Worldwide
