Me and Cats, Part Deux

“If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” (Mark Twain)

[Read Part Un]

In the spring of 2020, we decided we wanted to adopt two black kittens, preferably littermates. We talked to a friend who fostered shelter kittens and quite soon after that our friend told us about a litter of five black kittens (!) she was fostering. That's how we fell in love with, and adopted, Cleo (above, top) and Toby.

Cleo was jet black and looked/acted like the queen she was named after. And Toby was like no other cat either of us had seen before: A black cat with black stripes, a so-called black tabby, or smoky tabby. Truth be told, when he stood in the sunlight next to his sister he appeared to be a deep warm brown with tabby markings. His undercoat is light grey.

They loved to sleep together, sprawled and entwined like circus acrobats or curled up as though they were still in the womb.

It was peaceful.

That is until the neighbors across the street moved out and abandoned their cat. This punk, this bully, this rogue feline, this Bad Tabby made it his mission to disrupt the peace. As our house was nearby, Toby and Cleo took the brunt of BT's anger and resentment caused by his predicament.

He’d come around at dusk and/or dawn to beat them up. On multiple occasions, he sent one or both of them to the vet to get stitched up. And within a few days or weeks, BT would do it again.

It was around that time we lost Cleo.

On 2/2/22, I let her outdoors one morning and she never came home. To this day, I blame myself. Was she snatched by a coyote? Hit by a car? Or did she just finally get tired of BT's beatings and set out to find safety? Or was BT more directly the cause of her demise? Alternatively, did she turn up on someone's doorstep and get re-adopted? Maybe someday we'll meet again, and she'll tell me all about it.

But Toby's world, like ours, was shattered. He was stunned. Yet, adversity often deepens bonds. Instead of sharing our attention with his sister, now Toby got all of it. And we got all of Toby's. Our shared loss drew us closer to Toby and him to us. He seemed to evolve, becoming more attuned to our moods and calls. His adventurous spirit waned, with his tree-climbing episodes becoming a rare sight. Instead, he chose to remain close to home, perhaps seeking solace in familiarity. We propped each other up.

Fast Forward Six Months

In late summer of last year, we adopted a lanky black kitten who had the uncanny  ability to fall asleep -- and stay that way -- at any time or place. You'd pick him up and he was like a beanie baby with rubber bands for legs. We named him Kef and he is one chill dude.

His name? Among middle eastern people’s kef means "A state of drowsy contentment, especially from the use of a hookah." Ok, I made that last part up.

Also I remembered my mother playfully tease her siblings at family gatherings shouting, “Kef!” It was like saying, “Party on dudes!”

His name aptly captured his essence, symbolizing drowsy contentment. He could fall asleep anywhere and stay asleep no matter what was happening.

But I worried that what befell Scratchy, Shmuley and Cleo would strike baby Kef, I started thinking about what we could do to forgo that outcome. My solution? I built a catio.

You know, kind of like a dog run but with levels, a way to come and go as they please but still be safe. And then I expanded it into a compound of two connected catios, the second one (south campus) much larger than the first (north campus). The two were connected by an elevated, protected walkway. They could pass between the two catios and be safe. And as I write this Kef is relaxing on the walkway just outside my window.

In my life, cats have been more than just pets; they've been confidants, silent witnesses to my highs and lows, and sources of boundless joy and comfort. They've taught me about the nuances of relationships, the importance of understanding, and the value of living in the moment.

ONE MORE THING…
With the help of the Baton Rouge Animal Control & Rescue Center, I trapped and “re-homed” Bad Tabby. However, that just meant that another neighborhood cat (family pet?) became the new apex predator. Despite that, the catio (and a dusk to dawn curfew for Toby) has kept our cats safe.

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Leave a comment to this post if you’d like me to post a link to a Google Photos album showing the “catio-compound” before, during, and after construction was complete.

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