By Sarah Herlong
For
this latest trip to a writer’s conference, I wrote instructions for the
sitters, two pages for the cats, and one page for mother. I put a lot of work
into writing instructions and enjoy it as much as writing a story. Here I share
my truncated page of cat instructions.
Ours
is a merged feline household. A Brady Bunch of cats. That’s right we have 5
cats, but that’s still 20 less than an animal hoarder.
The Original Gangster
Mother’s
cat showed up at a family reunion as a kitten, and got brought home as part of
the family. That’s what happens when you crash someone else’s family reunion.Spooky: Cream-colored
seal point with stunning blue eyes. He’s the only male. And this means my cats
relentlessly chase him when they’re outside. Inside they’re civil.
The Kittens
Found
under the compactor of our local dump. They are actually 2 years old now.
Josephine: She
is a fluffy black cat. Her eyes resemble an owl and she is a gentle soul. In a
show of solidarity she hangs out with the other black cats in my room.
My Old Cats
Rescued
shelter cat and failed foster kitten. They stay in my room.
Hortense: She’s
a black and white tuxedo. She has no faults except pooping and peeing on my
bedclothes when trapped in the room with no
access to the bathroom. Learned that one the hard way with an inattentive
pet sitter.
Zoe: She’s
another fluffy black cat. She’s got a smoker’s meow and the temperament of a
smoker kicking the habit. She looks like she’s missing hair around her neck and
on her tail…and she is. To tell them apart, Josephine has an upbeat attitude
and never meows. Zoe is sarcastic and only looks at you with the stink eye. She
meows her smoker’s meow often. Whereas the other cats will move out of your
way, she gets in your way and you have to step over her, even in the dark. She
has not figured out that we humans can’t see in the dark or maybe she just
doesn’t care. Zoe will cut you if you try to pick her up.
The
three black cats segregate themselves into my set of rooms separated from the
rest of the world by the kitchen pullout door. If this door is not treated
correctly it is the portal to anarchy.
Creepily Josephine and Isis can open the partition door so it is important to
keep my bedroom door closed too.
My
old cats exclusively come in and out of the house through the left window over
the orange table in my room. This is where they eat. Being black you won’t see
them in the window at night and will have to open it just to see if they’re
there. They grew up free feeding, so they like little amounts of food
throughout the day if they stay inside. The other cats get fed in the morning
and then again around 4:00 pm which they interpret as between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm. Basically
the feeding chair is magic to them. They sit in it, and food appears. I never
said they were geniuses.
Cats make my face explode in an allergic mess. That being said, this blog makes me more appreciative of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about this post is that you accepted the mundane task of composing instructions for a sitter and made it into a writing challenge for yourself proving that practicing the craft of writing can be found in unexpected places.
I love that your "instructions" opened a window for the reader. I not only learned a little about the persnickety world of cats, but, more importantly, you gave the reader insight into your life.
Cats make my face explode in an allergic mess. That being said, this blog makes me more appreciative of them.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love most about this post is that you accepted the mundane task of composing instructions for a sitter and made it into a writing challenge for yourself proving that practicing the craft of writing can be found in unexpected places.
I love that your "instructions" opened a window for the reader. I not only learned a little about the persnickety world of cats, but, more importantly, you gave the reader insight into your life.
This made me laugh. Your unique sense of humor sets your writing apart. Zoe is a character. They all are. There is a story here. Cat people would eat this up!
ReplyDelete