After lunch, Karen makes a few calls on her hand phone. Then I lie next to her. While she is stroking me, and tickling my tummy, she says, ‘Don’t you think it’s time for you and Oliver to live together in the house?’
Karen’s questions are often demands.
Reluctantly, I follow her towards the back of the house, to Oliver’s room. My tail hangs down, my ears are back. At that moment I am a nasty Meeyuk.
‘Come on, Bella, hurry up!’ She says.
Rats Tails! Surely I have done enough to help and comfort him.
Little Blue Eyes is in his basket. She leaves, and I am alone in the room with him. He stays in his basket, staring at me.
My grrrrrrr is soft, but I need to remind him that I am the boss, the top cat, and that he should be wary of me and know he is in my territory, that I was here first.
Oliver’s blue eyes search mine. The brave little one is trying to stand his ground, but he is nervous inside. Tentatively, he steps out of his basket, but he waits for me to make the first move. I sniff him, and then allow him to sniff me. I walk around the room and then leave.
He stays in his room most of the time. Sometimes, I hear him mewing when he is lost. If I hear his mews becoming louder, I run to his aid, and help him to find his way in the large house marked with my scent. He will eventually find his way through his own scent channels.
This morning, I tell myself that I am more used to him now. The time has come for me to help him to learn about the house. I have to make him part of life in the house or we will fight as he grows older. I have no choice.
Gradually, I encourage him to follow me through the rooms in the house, past every corner and piece of furniture marked with my scent. My smell is everywhere, but he leaves his mark occasionally.
Tony looks at Oliver lovingly. ‘He has only been here for a few weeks and he’s almost twice the size he was when
Bella found him. The two cats are completely different. Bella is just a Tabby, but Oliver is a gorgeous, purebred Siamese. I still can’t understand why he was given away. The person who dumped him must’ve been crazy.’
So, I’m not good enough for Tony? Just a Tabby? I flick my tail against his leg three times and hope it stings. So what if Oliver is a Siamese, whatever that is! It’s who a cat is inside that matters. It is their Catness.
Tony doesn’t have Karen’s understanding of cats. I am certain of that. Karen made me feel loved and beautiful from the day she found me. She calls me her special cat, and lets me know that Oliver will not change our close relationship. Whenever I am jealous of Oliver, I remember Karen’s love and try to relax.
I wonder how long it will take for the two of us to bond. Other than being feline, and having a cat’s features he is unlike me in many ways. Though he is still a kitten, I can tell he will be leaner and longer than me. His meow is sharper and louder than mine. He is far more talkative and very active. I can’t remember being at all like him when I was that little.
Oliver taps me with his paw and runs ahead, asking me to play. Fast Rats! This little one can run. When I don’t respond he bites my tail. Frustrated with him, I chase him away.
At first, Oliver refuses to go outside into the wet and cold, but I push him through the special door into the garden.
He must learn to go outside. He is cat, isn’t he? He has to act like one. There are no flowers or leaves out there now, but he can run about and learn to catch creeping, furry things.
He is nervous at first and hides. He watches me, and slowly follows me to the fence, to the bare half-tree, the rocks and the bushes. He begins to run and enjoy himself. I catch a lizard, and play with it. Imitating me, he catches a worm, and throws it in the air.
We return to the house, I once called mine. When I jump onto my favourite chair, he stands and looks at me not knowing what to do.
Prrup prrup, I say to him, and he jumps up to join me. I touch his sleek, small body with my paw and he comes closer. We fall asleep together. When I wake, he is still asleep.
I lick his tiny face and feel true, caring warmth towards him for the first time.
He is behaving himself, but I know it won’t last. His blue eyes have naughty shining in them. Soon my troubles with him will start.
When Dane and his mother arrive, both are smiling. The energy in the room is positive.
‘Hello, Bella. I missed you.’ His tiny hands touch me all over and he hugs me. Then he runs to Karen and hugs her too.
Excitedly, his words rush out. ‘Karen, Karen, I have a puppy now. He is black, and his name is Misty.’
His mother says happily, ‘Dane adores Misty. He feeds him and changes his water. He is helping me to train him too.’
A dog is better than nothing, but a poor substitute for a cat. The main thing is that Dane is happier.
‘Show Karen a photo of your puppy,’ Dane’s mother says.
Karen smiles. ‘He’s very cute. I’m pleased for you Dane.’
Dane sits on the floor next to me, while Karen talks to his mother.
‘I love my little Misty, but I love you too, Bella,’ he says. ‘I talk to Misty, but he’s still young and runs about all the time. Not like you, Bella. You listen and understand.’
‘Thank heavens Dane is much happier since we bought Misty for him, but he still has a few moments of crying and clinging to me...and he hardly talks about the fire next door,’ his mother says.
Dane’s smile disappears and his sad face is back.
I know he needs me, so I nuzzle against him.
Karen takes Dane’s hand. ‘Maybe now that you have told Bella why you are sad inside, you will be able to tell your Mum, Dad and me, how you feel about the fire.’
‘I will have to tell Misty about it first. He doesn’t know.’
‘That’s a good idea, Dane. Misty lives in your house and he knows nothing about what happened in the house next door. He will understand when you tell him about it, I’m sure,’ Karen says.
Dane nods. ‘Yes, I will tell Misty.’
Their talk becomes boring and I worry about Oliver scratching the carpets and furniture while we are busy.
When Dane and his mother are ready to leave, he pats my coat and kisses my head.
‘Bye, bye, Bella...love you,’ he says.
The wind howls, bare branches crackle and heaps of leaves block the special cat door leading into my garden. Inside the house, the windows rattle and cold creeps in from beneath the doors. I am sublimely warm next to one heating vent, while Oliver is near a vent of his own.
Karen calls me. Reluctantly, I leave the vent to join her in the therapy room.
‘Mia and her mother will be here in a few minutes,’ Karen says.
As the door to the therapy room opens, I run to greet Mia.
‘Hello, Bella, I’ve missed you so much,’ she says as she bends to stroke me. ‘I’m back at school and feeling much better.’
I notice that she has grown taller and she looks stronger.
Her mother smiles broadly. ‘Mia has recovered well and the doctors are pleased with her. She has changed a lot since you saw her last. She is happier at school, but she still lacks a little confidence. I’ll let her tell you her news.’
‘The bullies aren’t worrying me as much now. The new friends I made love cats too, and we share cat stories. Before school, during recess, and after school we stick together. We ignore the bullies and feel safer.’
‘That’s great news, Mia.’
Mia’s tells Karen more about her new friends, and then Karen asks, ‘When are you going to play the violin for your class?’
‘My teacher asked me to play, but I told her that the others in the class won’t like my classical music.’
‘That might be true,’ Karen says. ‘Maybe you could play some popular songs they know and like. They can join in by singing or clapping their hands.’
‘I guess I could.’
‘You haven’t visited Bella after school yet,’ Karen reminds her. ‘You are welcome to spe
nd time with her. In the afternoon, she is usually in the side garden unless it is raining. Open the gate and go in, but don’t forget to close it when you leave.’
‘I would love to play with Bella. I’ll visit her tomorrow after school.’
I feel happy and look forward to her visit, but what about Oliver? Will he like Mia? It will work itself out, I guess.
Rats! How could I have complained I was lonely before he came? Now he is with me too much, or I worry about him and his antics.
Karen is waiting for me in the laundry. ‘Come on, my sweetie...grooming time.’
It’s cold in the laundry and I know that she wants to comb me with the skinny comb that hurts when I have knots in my fur.
‘Hurry up Bella...I’m freezing waiting for you.’
I’m staying warm. She can wait.
‘Fine. I’m coming to find you...and pick you up. I know that you don’t like being carried.’
I give in, and go to the laundry for the hair combing torture.
‘You’re a wonderful Therapy Cat but such a “drama queen”, she says, as she combs my coat. ‘It’s almost over. Now for the brush. You enjoy having your coat brushed.’
Brushing is invigorating and sensual. I hope she goes on and on. It stops and I shake myself. I feel fresh and clean. All my dry hairs have gone.
‘Sorry...claws too,’ she says, grabbing me.
Off go the tips of my sharp weapons.
Oh well, that’s Catland.
I hear the garden gate open. It’s Mia. She walks uncertainly. I run to her, circle her legs with my tail, and purr.
‘Oh, Bella, It’s lovely to see you,’ she says stroking my head.
I am filled with Cat Love for this human child. She is starting to blossom and I’m thrilled.
We sit under the half-tree, and she pats me with love in her fingers. She has a gentle touch and I am in Cat Heaven.
‘I brought you a toy to play with,’ she says, with her hand in her pocket.
A bouncy thing slithers across the ground. She pulls it, and it is a snake. She dangles it, and it turns into a mouse. I try to catch it, but Mia makes sure it is too clever for me. It hops and hides, and hops again. Just when I think I have caught it, it’s gone. We play a while longer, and at last I have it. I bite it, but it tastes awful. I will play with it again later.
She looks towards the gate. ‘Mum is here for me. I’ll see you soon, darling, Bella.’
She puts her hand into her other pocket and leaves another present for me on the grass. It is chicken, and I eat it quickly.
Next time she visits she will have to meet Oliver. She will adore him, I’m sure. I wanted one more afternoon alone with Mia before sharing her with Oliver.
Blue Eyes sits near the window making chattering noises as he looks outside.
He is restless. Something is bothering him lately, but I can’t see or smell it. He is growing into a strong and muscular cat, but he is emotionally sensitive and becomes easily frustrated. I wonder if his unease is due to what Tony calls, his fine breeding. The house is quiet and nothing in the garden could distress him. I stopped the dog next door from barking. The fence prevents stray cats and dogs from entering our garden. Even my friend, Brown Cat, has not visited me since Oliver arrived. I wonder where she has gone. He is not restrained, and is free to roam throughout the house, except for the therapy room. He is well fed and loved. However, he reacts to the slightest changes in routine. If Karen is in a hurry or is tired, or the tone of her voice alters slightly, he runs away or turns his back on her. I doubt he has the temperament of a Therapy Cat.
By now, he has lost his kitten chubbiness, and I have to admit that he is extremely handsome. Not sensuously handsome like the Bengal in the cattery, but he is elegant. He is slim, long, and moves athletically, with newly acquired physical prowess. His silky white and cream body fur is magnificent. Once he is fully-grown, his brown, boot paws will be smaller, rounder and more delicate than mine. His eyes are his most striking feature – deep blue like the tiny, summer flowers in the garden. His face is balanced now. He has grown into his big pointed ears that dominated his face as kitten.
I tell myself that we are both felines, but he differs from me in so many ways that it remains a puzzle. I look at myself in the mirror and I am beautiful, as Karen and other people say, but my appearance is distinctly different to Oliver’s.
He is starting to leave his marks on corners of the rooms and furniture near mine, creating his own scent path in the house. I have begun to allow him to make his own path, as long as he realises that he is still in my territory. When he becomes an adult, we will share the house. We are growing closer, chatting and lying next to each other for warmth. This is all positive.
Though Oliver goes to Karen, he is more Tony’s cat than ever. It is obvious that Tony adores him. He pets him gently, and talks to him lovingly At night, when Tony is home, Oliver is in the television room next to him or curled up on his lap.
I consider myself the far luckier cat, having Karen’s special love.
Emma, the young woman who was upset after breaking up with her boyfriend, Steve, is here to see Karen. She is dressed in black again, but today she smells fresh and her hair is neat. She smiles, and even stops at my basket to say, ‘Hi Kitty.’
She tells Karen her news. ‘My friends have been amazing. They supported me after Steve’s friends posted nasty photos of me on the Internet. They found pictures where I look great, and posted them. There were hundreds of positive responses.’
I wish I understood the technological devices that Humans talk about. They are not in a cat’s world...not yet, anyway.
‘Lots of guys seem to like the way I look with some extra curves, but I can’t see why.’
Karen smiles, and they discuss how people’s tastes differ.
‘Did you do any of the homework about the negative way you’ve been thinking about yourself?’ Karen asks.
Karen is wearing her strong face. It means she is definite about something and won’t shift or negotiate. I see it when she calls me, and wants me to come to her in a hurry.
Emma looks down and shakes her head. ‘I’ve had so much going on that I didn’t get around to it.’
Karen frowns and I know she is dissatisfied.
‘Working on it will help you a lot, and make a big difference to the way you feel about yourself.’
‘I understand more about the homework now. I’ll find time for it,’ Emma says.
Karen’s homework seems to help many of the teenagers who visit her, but that is another thing I don’t understand. As long as it makes them healthier and happier that is most important.
Anyway, it is a mystery to me that Humans can change the way they feel about themselves. Cats do not change their ideas about themselves. I am extremely pleased to be a cat, and I like myself the way I am.
Oliver is bored and restless this morning. Earlier he shredded the newspaper. Now his claws are into documents on Tony’s desk. He tears at the papers, enjoying the sound of them ripping. Tony is not at all pleased that he cannot read his morning paper, but he controls any anger he has towards Oliver. He shakes the shreds of paper at Oliver, and says “no” loudly. But, when he goes into his study and finds his important documents in pieces, his fury erupts.
‘You little devil! Don’t you ever do this again,’ he shouts, waggling his finger at Oliver.
It is the first time Tony has been so angry with him. Oliver runs to hide under the bed.
I doubt Tony’s rage will stop Oliver. I knew that once he felt comfortable in the house he would be naughty.
Now that Tony has left for work, Oliver chases his tail. Then he turns somersaults on the carpet. Bored with that, he digs a hole in the soil of an indoor pot plant. Not satisfied yet, he stretches up the wall and his claws grasp a low painting. It crashes to the floor.
Enough!
I swat him with my paw.
‘Do you think you are my mother telling me what to do? There are enough ru
les in this house without you interfering,’ he says in his Siamese dialect. As if to prove to me that he can do whatever he likes, he shows off his skills by climbing the drapes.
Rat’s Poo! Now he is hanging onto the curtain rail, but his claws are caught in the fine material.
Meow, meeow, meeeeow help me. I’m going to fall, he calls in panic.
‘Sorry Oliver, but I’m too heavy to climb up there,’ I say. ‘I’ll look for Karen.’
She hears his distress call, and runs out of the therapy room. When she sees him dangling from the rail, her face is angry. She rescues him and says ‘no’ loudly. Then she sprays him with water. I hear his yowls of distress.
I’ve had the water treatment only once, and it almost stole one of my nine lives. I am not surprised that Oliver doesn’t like it! I smile to myself, not because I want Blue Eyes to suffer, but he needs to learn some self-control. I wasn’t like that at his age. I liked to play and run, but I was quieter and gentler. He is behaving like a rebellious, male teenager, taking risks, testing his limits. I hear parents of human, male teens who visit Karen complain about the same thing.
All Cats Alive! A teenage Siamese cat!
I go into the cold garden to escape from Oliver’s antics. I need calm and quiet.
Do I like Oliver? He is a lot of trouble now, but he’ll be grown up soon, and then I’ll be able to tell if he’s a real friend.
This is the second week that sad teenagers have come to see Karen.
I sense their misery and consuming worry. How dreadful! I wish I could understand why some young people feel so empty inside, and why their spirits are in such pain. Cats try to handle their lives, even in the worst circumstances. I keep being reminded how different we are to Humans. I think of Oliver, left in a box barely alive, and how he clung to life and recovered.
What is this deep, sad sickness that infects so many Humans? And why do they have it? Catland must be nothing like Humanland. I wish the sad ones had Cat-like resilience.
Bella Page 11