She's trying!

  Ms. Nycto, the abandoned cat that we adopted, has no idea how to be a Bayou Cat.  She stalks leaves as prey, only eats store-bought cat food and still has not figured out that rain gets her wet.  She sits on the porch rail through the strongest of rainstorms instead of seeking shelter.  Ms. Put, on the other hand, knows to head under the house or into the shed.  Ms. Nycto sits on the railing and soaks up all the rain with her long fur.  I try to coax her inside but to no avail.  Her lack of commonsense must be due to the fact that she was obviously someone's "indoor" lap cat and not a rough and tumble survivor like Ms. Put.  Both were "throwaway" cats.  Ms. Put was tossed from a moving car as a kitten.  She made her way through the creek and woods to the Little Bayou House.  Along the way, she caught small critters to eat and was able to outsmart predators that might have made a meal out of her.  Ms. Nycto was abandoned as a fully grown cat.  When we found her, she was emaciated, matted and vermin-infested.  She had no idea how to survive and the end was near until we stepped in to care for her.
   
  Her inability to "fit in" on the Bayou has cost her a bit of her pride, though.  She is constantly being humiliated by the other critters. Lizards, frogs and birds are getting the best of her!  The woodpeckers and cardinals eat most of her overpriced cat food and frogs simply terrify her.  The lizard?  Well, at least she caught its tail even though she knew not what to do with it.  Still, the cat is trying as she pulls guard duty in the garden.  Several times she has decided that the peach trees make the perfect shade for her beauty sleep.  The birds and squirrels have yet to figure out that this cat is a far cry from being the hunter of Ms. Put.  While she naps, the other critters chatter and twitter among themselves and dare not raid the plump peaches.  (If only I could convince her to stay there permanently!)  

  Yesterday morning, I found her in an entirely different place.  Her resting spot was high on the top of the herb shelf.  Here she had a clear view of the entire kitchen garden spot.  She was able to protect (and I use the word lightly) my crops from the voles and squirrels.  Her long, fluffy tail swished unceasingly which  kept the critters alerted to her presence.  Even while she was dozing, the tail swished.  Back and forth, back and forth, like the pendulum in the old mantel clock.  Was she aware of how well she was ridding the garden of pests?  I doubt it.  Still, it is nice to see her adapting to life around here.  Now if I can only teach her to stay out of the rain!