Friday Cat Blogging

Missy & Abe
Missy was my cat for 18 1/2 years. She was a small creature, five pounds at her largest, four and a half towards the end of her life. Abe was her best animal friend in her later years. An Irish wolfhound, Abe's head was as big as Missy. (In the background you can see parts of Abe's mistress, my friend Zinna.) As you can see, Missy and Abe got on very well, for all the size differential. This was partly because Missy had been raised around Julie's dog Samantha, who was the most gentle and accepting dog in the world, and partly because Abe was, like so many larger breeds of animals, a gentle creature himself. He was big, what did he need to prove to anyone? And Missy was a cat, what did she need to prove to anyone?

Missy and Abe both liked porcupines and tried to make friends with them. The difference was that when Abe would approach one, the porcupine would turn his tail toward Abe, Abe would do the dog greeting and try to sniff under the tail, and he would invariably get quills in his nose; he may have been one of those dogs who get addicted to something in the quills or maybe he just never learned. Abe never saw a porcupine he didn't try to sniff. Going for a walk with Zinna and Abe was a never ending adventure, with Zinna and me being vigilant and pulling him back before he could, once again, get quilled. Missy, on the other hand, never got quilled because as she would approach, they would turn their backs on her and she would circle to touch noses and so she never touched them and never needed to learn that they were sharp.

As Missy aged, she slowed down and slept a lot. When she first woke up she moved slowly, carefully, allowing her joints to warm up before she put much stress on them. Except the time six weeks before she died, when she was sleeping on my breast as I sat in my recliner. Suddenly, she was up and gone and by the time I could turn around to see what was happening, all that was left of the mouse was its tail. Such a good little predator, she was.

These days both Missy and Abe have been gone for a few years. But I still miss them. Having the Hooligans is lovely, and they make me laugh with their young antics, but sometimes I want my little, quiet, comfortable Missy.