I forget the circumstances, but we were about to go away for a few days several months ago, and I saw "Night" the feral cat sitting out in my driveway; a feline I had fed for quite some time. I figured I wouldn't see him again. And sure enough, after we returned from our trip, he didn't come up that evening, or that week, or the rest of that month. As a matter of fact, he didn't appear for the next several months, and I was convinced he had gone on to his reward.
Strangely enough, I had just finished reading an article tonight related to "Do Our Pets Have an Awareness of Death?" And lo and behold, I walked outside to water my new hedge, and rounded my house to turn on the valve, and I saw a black cat standing near my fence. Suddenly, there was that old familiar meow, and, with that, he walked towards me. He certainly seemed to be that old familiar severely arthritic feline.
I hurried to fix him a plate of dog food, (what I had always given to the old fella), and also made him up a dish of milk. Afterwards, I walked into my bedroom and grabbed a flashlight; for you see the Night with which I was familiar had the nastiest wound on his neck from repeated scrapes with other cats, and which refused to heal. I was a bit doubtful of his true identity since it had been such a long time since I'd seen him, presumed him dead, and given this particular black cat was, though obviously old and arthritic, walking with only the slightest limp.
As I stood a few feet away from the hungry old cat, and shone the light on the right side of his neck... I witnessed a somewhat less angry, but very much still present three inch gash on his neck.
Night had come home.
Do I believe that cats have 9 lives? Yeah, I think I do.
Post-script - Since I wrote this blog a couple of other considerations came to mind. Night the Cat had disappeared in the past, and once, after perhaps two weeks, I was so sure that either his terrible arthritis or infection from that awful wound had taken him out, and he had laid down under a tree and died somewhere that I wrote a blog in his memory. However, he 'showed up' a few days later.
This time around, however, the ole boy has been missing in action for a full six months, and, of course, we have just experienced Hurricane Irma with its 100 mph winds; which he evidently 'weathered' very well.
I can only say I am impressed with the old feline's perseverance with anything and everything life can throw his way.
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 71. Copyright pending
If you wish to copy, share or 'save' please include the credit line, above
Post-script - Since I wrote this blog a couple of other considerations came to mind. Night the Cat had disappeared in the past, and once, after perhaps two weeks, I was so sure that either his terrible arthritis or infection from that awful wound had taken him out, and he had laid down under a tree and died somewhere that I wrote a blog in his memory. However, he 'showed up' a few days later.
This time around, however, the ole boy has been missing in action for a full six months, and, of course, we have just experienced Hurricane Irma with its 100 mph winds; which he evidently 'weathered' very well.
I can only say I am impressed with the old feline's perseverance with anything and everything life can throw his way.
by William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from (Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 71. Copyright pending
If you wish to copy, share or 'save' please include the credit line, above
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