It seems as if there is a never-ending parade of cats that visit the Bayou. Most are the typical "throwaway" pets that people no longer want because of one reason or another. "They are too moody." "I do not have time." "She keeps having kittens." "There is cat hair on the furniture." These are some of the whiny excuses that people tell me all the time. None are reasons...they are whiny excuses for a person doing a mean thing. Most house cats never make it in the wild. There are too many predators out there that would love to dine upon "Fluffy". Yep, that is hard to hear but, yep, it is true. I have come across the remnants of "Fluffy" more times than I can count and it is never pretty and always heartbreaking. Don't want to make the commitment...don't get a pet. Simple. It has never bothered me to take in yet another stray animal. They come, stay and live out their lives with us. It does bother me that folks do see pets as something that can be discarded on a whim.
Ms. Nycto came to the Bayou years ago. She was as skinny as a rail, flea infested and sweet as a button! She endeared herself to us immediately and no matter how I tried to find her original owners, no one ever claimed her. She claimed us. This sweet cat roams the house, goes out to bask in the sunshine and now rules the roost. The Bayou Princess gets her choice of sleeping quarters whether it be on my bed, beside the dog or outside of Son's bedroom door. (He does not let her sleep on his bed because she has a habit of drooling...a lot.) She, also, has the typical cat affinity for boxes. Let a box be found...and a cat will be found.
This morning, I started cleaning out the dressers and came across nigh on a hundred socks. (Hubby seems to have an affinity for clothes including socks!) Out of this hundred or so, only about twenty were in sets. The rest were loose socks. I started pairing up the socks and tossed some of them in an empty box that once held sweet potatoes. Since I was changing out the entire dressers, the box set unmoved. Now, it is not a sweet potato box full of socks but, rather, a cat bed. Ms. Nycto has laid claim to the nice soft box of socks! Obviously, she figures that a warm place is needed to tide her over through this cold spell and a box full of socks is ideal.
No problems. She can snooze to her heart's content. No one needs that many socks anyway! I will, however, miss her warming my feet at night.
She is back! And she is most welcome to stay. Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess, has a way of endearing herself to those that are lucky enough to earn her favor. If she likes you, she lets you know. If she does not, she ignores you. I have been "chosen" as the indoor second in favoritism. She has been quite straightforward that Son is her "first". She adores him so much so that she follows him everywhere. But, as I said, I am the second favorite....while she is inside...and it is cold. Then, she is "my" cat.
All winter, Ms. Nycto elected to sleep at the foot of my bed. This is nice as I am notorious for having cold feet at night. I guess the circulation is poor or I am lacking certain vitamins...whatever. The cat and her long fluffy fur went a long way in keeping me comfortable on winter nights. Along about 4am, however, Ms. Nycto would worm her way up near my face for an hour of snuggles before fully demanding that I feed her. We had a ritual of sleep, snuggles and snacks. It was perfect for the two of us!
Then, spring bounced in and my fickle cat moved herself upstairs to the guest bedroom. There, she sprawled out on the queen-sized bed and the "Princess" became her own grand self. I felt abandoned. So much so that for several nights, I could not sleep. I missed her presence. I missed the loud, all-night purring. I missed my foot-warmer and my alarm clock. It did not seem right to be able to squirm about the bed without worry that I might kick the cat.
Well, that lasted for about two weeks. Mother Nature is playing a trick on us by sending us an April Fool's joke. The days are dreary rain and the nights are cold again. I love it! Why? Because Ms. Nycto is back next to me again. Her purring is soothing and my feet are warm. There is nothing like a cat to make things seem perfect with the world.
