It seemed that having a pet disrupted the flow of one’s daily routine. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing. — Syou Ishida, author of “We’ll Prescribe You a Cat” Japanese novel
Cats are connoisseurs of comfort — James Herriot, veterinarian and writer
Middle of last week I stayed mostly inside, as did Wilhelmina. The rain was torrential, and the ground was full of slippery mud and very large puddles. I missed feeding the birds. It was useless as the seed would puff up becoming inedible and sticking to the feeders. The rain lasted two to three days. By the third day the sun came out as did Wilhelmina. She followed me around as we checked the greenhouse, the goldfish pond, and the birdfeeders. All was well after filling the bird feeders again.
Wilhelmina left the birds alone and seated herself at the top of the porch steps to watch the birds’ coming and going. Nowadays, Wilhelmina prefers watching instead of making the effort of catching. She’s soon to be ten years old and has two feeding stations in the house. I looked up how old would Wilhelmina be in human years if she were ten years today? What I found might be right on “There’s no simple formula to convert cat’s age to human years because cats are complex creatures with different genetics, diets, and living situations. A guesstimate would be 56 years. Further information suggested a cat’s physical growth stops between seven and ten, but they will continue to mature mentally and emotionally. Says a little more for cats than it does for humans. Maybe we should do more like the cat does: porch sitting, birdwatching, selective eating,napping more, and living longer.
Years ago, we saw a number of feral cats roaming the Prairie in and around our home. Since that time, we have not seen any. A pamphlet came in the mail recently about cats, birds, and humans. It mentioned a few ideas to care for cats. The average outdoor cat has an average life expectancy of two to five years while an indoor cat may easily live well for 15 or more years. Outdoor cats may be hit by cars or possibly curl up onto a car’s warm engine unbeknownst to the owner. We also have wild creatures known to attack domesticated cats such as stray dogs, coyotes, foxes, owls, hawks, and bobcats.
Wilhelmina sat on the porch watching the birds until she tired of it and came inside. I was sitting in the sunroom working on my computer. She did her usual thing by hoping on a chair, stretching over to the table near my coffee cup, around the back of my sofa and falling sound to sleep. Such is a cat’s life.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
