Carnival of the Cats #3-MoLLy's ReVenGe

HElWoE...fEstE wEnT To bEd aN sHo Im poShTinG dIs wEEkS aMIsh KaRnIVal oF tHe KatZ enTRy.

Zozo An mEES hEar 'BoUt a KaT nAmEd ElWoOd aLL tHe tIMe...Ooooo hEsh sooo gOOd...HeSH Sooo cUte...WEes aRe ShIck oF iT...SO's WeEs poShTinG a piCThEr of hIs faT asSH...hE's eVen faTTer DaN EdlOe...meBBe nOt.

Elwood 1990-2002

More about Els in the extended entry:

Els was the gentlest of cats...not only could you bury your face in his furry belly, he would stretch across your chest and neck like purring 20 lb. scarf and fall sleep anytime the opportunity presented itself. He was the ultimate lap cat.

I found Elwood and his three littermates in a dumpster next to the 7-11 where I stopped to get a bottle of cold water. As I walked past the dumpster I heard a faint mewing and inside a paper shopping bag were four newborn kittens. I took them to my Vet and we began a hand-rearing process. I kept the two orange & white ones, his assistant the gray and white ones.

Jake (top) & Els at 12 weeks

All survived, the gray & whites found new homes among the Vet's client's list and Jake and Elwood stayed with us. They were simply a delight...not realizing they were cats...they assumed they were just like us, but smarter and furrier. They adored the two elderly Irish setters and generally ruled the roost...zipping and zapping over, on and under everything. They were indoor cats until we moved to a new home with a quiet, safe street and lots of parkland to roam...or so I thought.

[Jake was killed by the newspaper delivery guy about six years ago...the moron whipped at speed into our drive to turn around and hit the cat who was coming to the Spousal Unit's call at front door. ]

Els was the sort of cat who never left your side if you were ill and always had a smile on his face when called. He never ventured far from the house...preferring to sun himself on the patio furniture and dig up anything newly planted to see what was at the bottom of the hole...planting bulbs was a challenge. I covered the newly planted patches with flagstones...which was only midly successful...as I discovered that cats can do the math to tunnel in horizonally.

Like most cats, Els loved hiding in odd places and springing on his victim, but never unleashing a tooth or nail ...just a grab, kick and roll... then scampering off to flop for a tummy stratch reward. He loved to ride on our shoulders around the house. As he grew into his full Maine Coon size that became a dicey bit of bidness...I have a 3" scar from a badly judged leap off the cat tower. One of his fav games was to hide in the dark on the opposing upper stairs and snag your hair as you came up the lower. Shreiking, dropping trays and other mayhem was an added bonus. Jake was always a silent accomplice....riding shotgun in the shadows... scampering off quickly only to stroll up nonchalantly as if to say "Whats' the fuss here?" and help out by lapping up spilled trays.

Elwood was a master of the 90db Midnight hairball hurk...cat owner's know of what I speak. ...no need for gruesome details about slippers, bedcovers and such.

Els was also the grandmaster player of the game of Undertoad...although Molly is becoming very adept at escaping at the last second. Zozo gets suckered in every time. The *UnderToad lives/lurks under the edge of the bed covers and pillows...luring cats to fish the edge for his finger-like tentacles...then suddenly grabbing them and pulling them under the covers for kissing and hugging. They love/hate it.

*Called the undertoad cuz as kids that's what we thought Gran was saying when she warned us about the dangers of playing on the nearby riverbank... a malaprop that stuck and is part of our family lexicon.

Posted by feste at April 3, 2004 10:20 PM | TrackBack