The Current Crop of Cats

Patch sits in the shadows of the window blinds, warmed by the sun and half asleep. She is a pastel tortoiseshell, colored in soft shades of gray, brown, and white. She was an outside cat until she appeared on my doorstep and I often wonder if she misses the freedom of her old life. She is a gentle natured cat, quiet and friendly and there are times you'd never know she was around. She sleeps on my pillow at night and sometimes will softly paw at my face or hair.

Muggs sleeps in a basket under the other window. At eight months, she is still very much a kitten - a long, lean, brown toned tabby with a feisty, playful nature. She overflows with energy, ambition, fearlessness and curiosity. She is the first and the loudest on the counter for meals and the only one to reguarly stalk and pounce on the other cats. She will, I hope, eventually outgrow her regrettable kamikaze streak.

The oldest, Chloe, is by coloring and termperment, a dark cat. A tabby with black and brown tints and a sweet heart shaped face, she hates across the board. She will fly into a rage at the sight of the dogs and refuses to have anything to do with the other cats. She sleeps lightly, a part of her always on the alert for the first sign of danger, quick to give a warning growl if her space is compromised. Even in my arms and purring there is a tenseness in her small body, a readiness to flee that never completely relaxes. She's a tiger when cornered and has a number of hiding places that I've never found. No one but me has seen her for years.


Mischief is black and white and longhaired, very shy with people and very timid with the other animals. She moves cautiously around the house as if doing reconnaissance and prefers high places, out of reach of the dogs.
She defers to the other cats in all areas except food - in this, she stands her ground and can become quite vocal -
and she is content to stretch out on the counter and watch the world go by. She is undemanding, quiet, happy to be part of the overlooked chorus.

The youngest of the trio of black cats, Murray is small, fit and trim and something of a troublemaker. He has a Jimmy Cagney look about him, slightly swaggering with a challenge in his yellow eyes. He walks confidently, head up, tail stretched out behind him, each step sure and definitive. He is an expert in covert approaches and will often land in my lap with an unexpected thud, seemingly from out of nowhere and indifferent to the fact that there may already be a cat in place. If, however, his bravado is met and matched, he will quickly retreat with a kind of dismissive dignity.

Widget, solid black and half Persian with a silver undercoat, slinks. She keeps low to the ground and moves slowly and deliberately, reminding me of an industrial push broom. She shuns the other animals, avoids strangers, and spends most of her time under the bed sleeping. She will growl if approached and often swats at the other cats when feeding but never with claws out and she will run rather than fight. Rarely, she will seek me out and want to be held and those moments are precious to me. She is a suspicious animal, independent, self sufficient, and quite beautiful.

Nicodemus is twenty pounds of mellow - at peace with himself and the world around him. He lazes in the sunshine and when he walks, he strolls, unbothered by the dogs or whatever other chaos surrounds him. He's laid back and
equally content to be stroked or left to himself. He will curl up with Butterbean or crawl into my lap, whichever is closest and he's amazingly light on his feet. He tolerates everything with good humor and a relaxed sort of resignation mixed with a healthy purring. He is comfortable, casual, and unfailingly tolerant.

The current crop of cats is as different and distinct as all those who have gone before - all have been special and
precious and irreplacable in their own ways. Each is a unique gift from God, given over to me for temporary care. However long or short their lives may be, they will be loved and kept safe while they are here.

For Cleopatra and Scotty.