That which was lost is found! Last Sunday January 21 came the most welcome telephone call from a neighbour to say that our errant cat was alive and well after an absence of ten long days. She had been spotted roaming the High Street in the very early hours and was recognised by Sandy Spencer, her previous owner/guardian, who took her in.
Needless to say, we are delighted to have her back. Not so her flatmate Mimi who was distinctly standoffish for 24 hours. Mimi is 15 (at least) and very tolerant, but cannot understand all the fuss being made of a flibbertigibbet fly-by night.
For Mimi is an honourable cat, more like a dog in her habits. She sits in the hall and walks to greet us as we come in the door. She is allowed to sleep on her mistress’s bed (something I don’t altogether approve of). She is loyal and hard-working after her fashion, not pleasure-seeking like feather-headed will o’ the wisp Milly.
I never was a cat person really, much preferred dogs – intelligent ones mind you, like the Border Collies that accompanied us and outran us over the years. A dog is company and not sniffily superior about acknowledging its dependence on the moods of its owner. It will turn out for walks whatever the weather and it rarely answers back. It is mostly a simple soul, not made for philosophising, and generally predictable in its wants and desires.
But too old now and long in the tooth for another canine, I have come to regard the feline of the species with a respect approaching admiration. The cat may be Egyptian in origin and inherit the arch inscrutability of the Sphinx. Unlike a cow, it cannot be herded, but it can be enticed and its trust gained, diffidently at first but increasingly with what might pass for love, if we didn’t know better.
One feels more honoured to be befriended by a cat. In times of lockdown, a pet is not just for Christmas; it is a source of sanity in a locked down world. So thank you Milly and Mimi and thank you to all those kind people who have sent us messages of support. We never left off hoping that she would return.
Image Credits: Kenneth Bird .