Mother Cat
(Page 2 of 2)

by Bobbi Ann Johnson Holmes

        (Continued from)   When it was time for the kittens to leave the boat, we found homes for three and kept the calico. As the weeks progressed our family became cat observers. We marveled as Mother Cat carefully trained Gypsy. The kitten would find her way up our large oak tree. Should she get stuck, Mother Cat would patiently follow her into the tree and lead her down.
        We eventually decided to spay Gypsy, as we had her mother. When Walter came home after his first big fight, my parents decided it was time for him to be neutered.
        Our three cats never allowed us to take part in their lives, yet they enriched ours. Our home was located in the country, surrounded by oaks, adjacent to a running creek. The backside of our house was a wall of glass doors, looking out to a rustic decking and the outskirts of a wooded area. Through the glass we spent countless hours observing the relationship between these three animals.

Gypsy Adored Her Older Brother

        Mother Cat was undoubtedly the dominate, although Gypsy unsuccessfully challenged her dominance throughout their relationship. Walter was simply a mama's boy and I'm sure the idea of standing up to his mother never once entered his feline brain. Gypsy, the same fiercely independent animal who tried to match her mother, would turn to a lovesick kitten when near Walter. She adored him. While Walter could never stand up to his mother, he was Gypsy's master; only because the calico allowed it.
        Our back yard became a theater and as each year passed we watched the unfolding lives of these three animals. They rarely allowed us close enough to pet them and had no tolerance for even a short session of human affection. Yet, they knew they could trust us.
        Once my parents heard Walter crying pitifully on the back porch. A thorn had wound tightly around his fur causing the animal great pain. The only way to alleviate the problem was to carefully cut a long strip of fur from his back. Amazingly, Walter, the cat who wouldn't allow you close enough to pet him, sat perfectly still for over thirty minutes as my father slowly cut the offending thorn from his fur.

Mother Cat Stalks Dicky Bird

        The only significant problem the cats posed came from Mother Cat. Within our house lived a yellow canary named Dicky Bird. Dicky was Mother Cat's obsession. On sunny days my mother would place Dicky's cage in front of a glass window. There Dicky would sing for hours. Outside, sitting up motionless, only her tail swishing from side to side was Mother Cat. She would concentrate on the pet bird, carefully calculating ways in which to enter our house.
        She wanted that bird. She wanted him badly. Several times each year, usually when a large group of people were visiting, Mother Cat would manage to sneak inside. My mother normally kept a close eye on our eldest feline and should the cat sneak pass the guard, mom would yell "the bird!" and we'd all race to the rescue.
        Once, after many years of trying, Mother Cat managed to break poor Dicky's wing. But, like the cartoon Tweedy Bird, Dicky survived. In fact, the vet told my father he'd never seen a canary that was so old, his feathers had turned gray.
        The cats had been with our family for several years when we had to move. Our new home was located even more remotely, in the desert along a lake. There was never a question that we would take the cats with us.                      
        Sadly, all three animals contracted cat fever shortly after we relocated. We were able to promptly deliver Walter and Mother Cat to the vet for treatment. But our stubborn little Gypsy just wouldn't be taken. Some say cats leave home when they are ill, finding a place to die alone. This is apparently what Gypsy wanted to do.
        After numerous attempts to catch Gypsy, my father finally succeeded. Almost. He instructed me to fetch a pillow case, in which to drop our wild little calico, and then she could be taken in for treatment. Unfortunately I chose the wrong pillowcase, for when we dropped her into it, she slipped through a tear in the bottom of the pillowcase.
        By the time Gypsy made it to the vet it was too late. The feline who adored her brother and challenged her mother, was gone.
        Walter survived cat fever and adapted to his new home. Yet, several years later he contracted an inoperable disk problem. My father, the man who never wanted cats, was forced to put down his namesake. Dad was crushed. He vowed he'd never again personally put an animal to sleep.

Mother Cat Remains

        Mother Cat was once again alone. She mastered the desert wilderness, including warning us of rattlesnakes. Once my father pulled a nasty trick on the old girl. As she was approaching a hose, Dad quickly jerked it, making the poor animal believe it was a snake. She literally jumped several feet, straight up, into the air.
        She enjoyed visiting the nearby lake and was known to nap in the boats moored at the docks. Perhaps it brought back some wonderful memories of her time with the kittens in our ski boat.
        One afternoon my mother, who frequently fed the wild animals, placed a cup of cottage cheese on a large flat rock by our front window. Much to Mother's amazement, she witnessed Mother Cat eating from one side of the rock, and there, on the opposite side was a young coyote, eating his share of the cottage cheese. The two animals seemed to be oblivious to the other's existence. Suddenly, Mother Cat looked up, and was more than startled to discover her lunch companion. Cautiously Mother Cat, her fur standing on end, slowly backed away from the cottage cheese, wisely leaving it to the coyote, who never acknowledged the cat's presence.
        Mother Cat was with our family for about ten years. Then one day she simply disappeared. We don't know what happened to her. She wasn't sick, so we don't think she went off, something Gypsy tried desperately to do. I hope she didn't grow careless and fall prey to a coyote. Perhaps she fell asleep in someone's boat and was taken away to discover a new home. She may have left, but the memories she brought us will always remain.