Funny adventures of Pirate and Maliutka

By Natalia Tkachenko
Chapter one. The story about how those cats appeared in our life.
“I want to have some kittens” – whimpered loudly my daughter Nastia just on the Eve of the New Year, in the Christmas time. And as you know, dear reader, your desires may become true just of the Eve of any Big Holidays. To my Nastia’s whimping there was a witness- our host Kathy from the Gulf Bay, who even started to advice to my daughter how to get this kittens by watching free ads in the newspapers entitled “Zoo” or calling to the local animal hospital, where people usually leave the newly born animals.
But personally, as Nastia’s mother, I have no strong desire to clean additionally for all the family and besides after the small kittens. So I tried to stop this talk from the beginning, saying that we will not discuss this item seriously unless the destiny will bring it again by chance...
And such occasion happened, quickly and strangely. At the beginning of the New Year 2002, to our farmstead house in the depth of the Mississippi forest there came a cat. It was white colored, smooth, with the three dark spots in the center of the spine. So we mentally give her nickname “Traffic Light”. But we did not call her with this name loudly because it was not our cat, why we should then give it the name? But stranger’s cat was not going to leave and was staying around the house one day and the next day, was eating fast the meatballs after our dog – miniature Doberman. Then we mentally called the cat the “Robber”. It did not allow us to pet it, but regularly came to eat the food, twice a day- in the morning and in the evening. And we started to put the food for it separately, in order to calm down the angry roars of the dog. For this moment started our friendship and our relationships.
As we all know, the winters in the Mississippi usually are not cold. As for me, I often get in December sun tents on the porch, basking in the sun. And November is usually to amusement of the northerners is warm, because there are subtropics here. In January and February its getting cooler, but is not enough to see the snow or at least to wear my new fur coat I brought specially from Europe. So, our new cat, picked for location the railings on the porch, was coddling in the Sun in the daytime and watching through the window what was going on in our room in the nighttime, as if having a free performance in the theater. From time to time we scratched with the finger through the glass just in front of cat’s nose, and she replied to us with scratching with her claws back to us through the other side of glass. But we never invited the cat inside the house first of all, because we already had a dog that knew the territory as his own property. Besides our father, chemist on his profession was confident that the cats spread different diseases. If no, then no, we did not object. So, now in the morning getting out of the house my daughter called: “Kitty - kitty” and immediately cat came next to you. Also you now could show the trick and caught the cat in between the plate and the tall grass where she used to jump off seeing the people coming out on the porch.
Several months later, in the early spring in March- April, we started to notice the dramatic changes in our pussy –cat. Now after she ate she was not more trying to run, but was rolling tenderly around mine or Anastasia’s legs, looking forward for the new ball of food – the full cup of the cat’s food from packet. And her belly according to the observations of my daughter was swollen and became more round. “It seemed that she is getting fatter, - said Nastia. – May be it’s from the good life?” But I already started to suspect that something is wrong. Growing everyday belt can indicate only one thing – that the female animal will soon have pets. It means that somewhere in the forest she supposed to have a husband – forest cat. It’s amazing, where did she find him? We have only dogs in the neiboughrhood houses. So, in general our discussions whether the cat is pregnant or not, or it just increasing its weight because of the good food and lazy life stile, was evidently finished with the fact when the cat disappeared for one day and then came next morning with the hanging in the belly zone skin – like the clothes sack. And we all understood that she became the Mom.
But where is she was hiding her kids, small kittens? We tried to watch after her. We did it all together: my daughter and I, my husband skilled in the spying issues with no results. We were following the cat’s footsteps but it tricked her trails like the fox from the famous tale. Of course, she still continued regularly to come for her food, twice a day – both at the breakfast and dinnertime. But she did not slept any more on the rails of our porch and when she went to the forest where we supposed she hide her kittens and where she had her den, she changed directions so often that even the police radar would be confused.
Then we took with my daughter week off for vacations and when we returned back (the cat all this time was fed by my husband) we found out that she did not spend long night times any more out in the woods with her new born kittens. And being worried about this for a while we decided that like young and unskilled first time mother, this cat ruined her progeny. My daughter was so upset: she was desperate to nurse small fluffy pets of our “Traffic light”. But I calmed her with the words that “first roll baked may not be the best”, and that our cat is young enough to have more kittens as long as she has around male forest cat.
I would never had the luck to see this male if it would not showed his curiosity to see the place where his fiancée was settled. He was absolutely indifferent to us, big black colored with watching straightly bright green eyes. He made no attempts to relocate here - thanks God! But I saw several times him sneaking or running back and then our pussy once again as if nothing was happened showed for her regular breakfast in the morning rubbing around the legs of her masters.
May be it was a paradox, but she never told us her “miyau” and her first singing signal I heard after ten months she stayed with us soon after she born our nowadays cat Pirate. But all the details will come in time…
 Chapter second. The dreams will come true, or we got the kitten. And not the only one…
So, in June 2002 our pussy once again became mother and this time she saves her descendants. Her currents cunning forest tricks to hide from us the pets were lasting for more then one month. But once there come the wonderful day when the young pets finally got their eyes opened, paws strengthen and there is the right time for them to change the kitchen menu, stop socking the milk and start their own hunt. And the hidden shelter in the forest become not fits any more for the development of their new life and cat’s biography. They start to move from the forest closer to the people. The same thing happened and in our case…
Its not a secret, that we live in so called mobile home, where the bottom does not stand on the ground but based on the special brick’s masonry. This house is good if you are going to move sooner or later to the other place. So, you can just simply load the house on the wheels – and move ahead with all the goods, like the turtle with her shell. So, our cat, researching all the positive things about such house for her personally, found somewhere a crack, a tiny whole in the bottom and all her cat’s family moved closer to us- into the trailer. It means that we did not see how mama-cat carried the pets in her jaws keeping them by withers in turn one after another relocated them into this discovered under our floor crack. But we soon started to get it through the ventilation system very specific smell of the cat’s presence. I need to say that this odor was not strong and disturbing, so we started to worry too much about this relocation and the new unexpected neighbors. But when the smell bouquet was increasing numerously multiplied on the summer hotness and it became evident that the kittens with their mama not only lived below our floor, but also made their “pi” too, then all out family had alarm and we understood that we need to make something with this issue, to build them for example the new house.
In a meanwhile warm August day closer to sunset, I washing as usually the dishes and at the same time watching through the window saw a wonderful scene. Our mother cat having taken out from her house inside the floor crack the adult kitten was taking small walk with him. We grasped from the beginning that he was adult one, he main proud and joy. Tell me please, where else you will find such large beauty around one month – month and a half old which absorbed the best colors from his mother and dad, forest cat and gray and white, fluffy now mewing pitifully if the mother was not on the safety close distance to him. And she, as if on purpose in order to show him that the world is huge, made several steps aside and our prettiest kitten in the whole world with the tender pitiful small sound signaled to her and at the same time to the whole world that he is alone, lost and is waiting for her mother’s love and affection.
I suppose such wonderful scenes one can watch when any forest female make introduction to her progeny with the variety of the surrounding world. It’s possible that the same touching will be the scene of the bear with her cubs, or wolf mother with the small one’s or the foxy with her pets. All alive is inspiring touchy in the phase of its early childhood!
So, our newborn kitten move around with the music sounds in the herbs, getting of his first life lessons. And I, getting exited not to lose such watching opportunity of his first steps, was scared even to run after the film or movie camera. Could you imagine yours or mine regrets if these entire miracles at once will disappear from our yard’s glade and we will not have enough time to observe these mysterious touches towards the existing world? At least I had opportunity to invite my daughter and husband who were next to me and can enjoy this picture.
If you think that we were so lucky to keep the wonderful pets in hands, you will be mistaken. With every our attempt to come closer to them the next several months (exactly 4 months) wild kittens (in this time there were two of them) run away aside as if in the case of real danger. To this time of our acquaintance we took bearings on the second one. He, hardly starting to walk, usually climbed the trunk of the old pine tree and called sign signals from over there. He should be very scared to see first in life our world from such height – and who will not be scared in his shoes? Oh, our dearest mountain climber!
Our attempts to take him off the tree were not successful. He scratched and crawled higher and higher. So, we were thinking that this screamer will spend on the tree trunk the rest of the day when stepping aside and leaving him for a while we shortly saw our mother cat going down from the tree with the small inside her mouth.
Chapter three. They are still afraid of people but with the time get used to us.
May be I will jump ahead if I will say that the first time we were lucky to take the kittens into hand only four month after they were born. The Kittens with the rare stability were trying to avoid the “giants” from the “big house” which we seemed to be for them. So, in their glances on us one can see the immediate horror, which we cause with our appearance around. But they were peacefully eating the dry food for the cats, which we were given to them in the carton plates, not ignoring this delicate issue. So, they get used to the idea of our usefulness. They accept our food and after this run to sock their mother, to get her precious warm milk. And the more they were scared of us, this wonderful fluffy spots, the more we with Nasika get eager to get them. So, we worked out the whole strategy.
The carton plate with the food was put on the lower stair of the porch, the mouths of Pirate and Maliutka – this were the nick names of our kittens – were sticking from the wooden staircases to get the food. So, we gave them some time to eat and then, when the food was already eaten we grabbed them by their fur, hidden from the kittens by the upper stair. And if having caught Pirasha (the other nick produced from his name) we could still keep him for several second before he run away, with Maliutka this tricks did not work out. She immediately turned round and weather clawed you or just bit with the small sharpen teeth leaving tiny holes on your skin. Or even, turning round with all her power beat you with the cat strength paw, leaving the narrow bloody paths in the hands. It was not so painful to us, as offensive all this kitten’s behavior: if you, fluffy eat out food why then you do not want to be friends with us, and claw us and run away?
A little bit more understanding the real reasons of their wild behavior became after one small event to which I succeeded to watch in our forest life, when I understood their real ancestors and their genealogy. The kittens grew and their mothers already started to teach them how to go for hunt. Of course the adult cat did the entire main hunt, but her kittens were invited to follow her toward the glade of the edge of the forest line and inside the bushes to rehearsal after their mother all the habits of the great hunters – watching, jumping grabbing the prey. And because the cats usually hunt in the night or early morning time and sleep all the day imitating their ancestors, wild animals, so the family was gone just after the sun set and were usually absent all night.
So, once in the morning I was woken up do not knowing from what reason and according to my tradition I got out to the porch and was standing rooted to the spot… From the bushes waddled, swinging their tails there came our cat’s family with the happy and satisfied mother ahead, rolling after her tired kittens and closing the circuit their father, forest cat. It was this amateur of our mother cat, whom I saw last spring and who was visiting our place several times and to whom she give her heart choosing with whom to produce babies. So, it was the most real wild cat I ever saw before, very big and absolutely black in color, the father of our Pirate and Maliutka, whom we saw first time from their birth. He calmly with the real dignity followed the family to their location place and stood aside with the rare not even supposed in my imagination attention watched the game of his fancy kids. Mother cat this time was dreaming on the rail of the porch, the pets were scampered about the herb steam and in between themselves, and the cat father watched and watched them with the stable interest like one can watch the funny toys made with the own hands. Only dark green eyes were sparkled with joy and pleasure and the body with smooth black fur resembled the Egyptian marble statue. I do not know, if I did not stay this time on the porch would he come closer to the kids? But first time in my life I do realize what is the real father cat’s feeling to his small one’s. About the love of the mothers for their posterity one should not tell a lot – it is evident fact, so called unconditional love. But about feeling of the fathers to their progeny, not active, strange but still existing life I never heard or watched myself before.
Chapter four. With no Mom.
There passed not full year from the time, as there appeared our fluffy friends in our life. They still continued to sock their tired mother’s tits with milk, beat each other near the plate with food, sharing the market. They as before very rarely allowed petting them and one after another came inside the big carton box we keep for them as a house. Such house was usually good from one rain to the other. So, after the box got wet. I took the new one, borrowed from Wal Mart Stores, stacked the walls with the scotch, then make the round cut for the entrance and here they are- checking the new house. I cover the bottom of such cave with the old mild T-shirt, which already was worn out, sometimes I even put the packet on the roof – so the house did not get wet shortly in the case of the rain. And- ahead, the super new log cabin was ready!
But the bigger grew the kittens, the more irritating effect they had on their mother. She was mad from their permanent desire to sock her milk and at the same time to struggle in between for the better place next to her. Besides, she did not like when they all together with her jump into the house-box. And if in the case with her small and weak daughter she was at least tolerant, in the case with big and strong Pirate, who was already as big in size as his Mama, the lady –cat was permanently saying to him her categorical “No”. Our cat is American origin, that’s why for sure she thinks in the local language.
 Pirate, our favorite, the big, mild and fluffy, twice as heavy as his sister, became social outcast. His mother ignored him completely, offended him did not give him place to eat next to her near the plate, beat him and permanently hissed on him when the pet her own size and even bigger entered the cat house. Of course, she grew him and fed him and taught him how to catch mice - I will tell more about this separately later on. But I cannot allow her to implant in this beautiful male cat the complexes of inside deficient and unbalanced - it was too much for him and for me, sympathizing to him too. I could not resist this towards my pet. That’s why having deals with the neighbor’s woman which had a lot of mice and being scared by the fact the growing belly of out Big Pussy cat which threatened with the new progeny (we had enough troubles with this one) I drove mother cat to the next house, five minutes from ours, there blink the tail and here it was – the new life for our old cat. I read somewhere that the cats can come back, so she may possible with her speed have several hours to make the way back if she want. But may be she was tired of her maternity, or was busy to become Mom for the new one’s, but nor on the next day, neither on the following week our “Traffic Light” did not come back to us. And thanks God for this! The kittens were a little bit sad without her disappearance several days- the most of course suffered Maliutka, Pirate to this time was more handsome, but it did not flood to the bigger tragedy. And our Globe continued to roll around our trailer with the kittens but already without their Mama.
 Chapter five. Hunting.
 Once in the morning I got out on the porch and saw very unattractive from my point of view picture. On the stairs next to the entrance there laid the piece of the killed mouse and after her the small bloody track like the tail followed by. I fastidious to everything dead asked my husband to hide this fragment of body. Thanks God he is like ex-policemen have not such feeling viewing over all this. And then I started intensively to wash with the steam of water from the hose to clean the porch. And all these would be of course shortly forgotten if not my daughter, who having come from school gave her own interpretation of all that had happened. According to her sensitive opinion on nature, grown on the books of James Darrell, this piece of mouse were the refreshments to us from our cats!!! It was the indicator of their cat’s special affection for our kind human treatment towards them. Of course I was touched deeply by this fact but could not hide my disgust while remembering the morning scene - and that’s it!
Chapter six. How they are playing.
For what I fond of Pirate and Maliutka is for their endless games. They never get bored and are so inventive that the most skilled writers imagination would get lost while send every time newer forms of their games. For example they can hide on the garden among plants and them in a second start to jump through another’s back possibly imitating our human game hop- scotch/ They can also in turned sharpen their claws along the trunks of the growing trees with the most serious expressions on their faces, as if there is not more serious jobs in this world. Also Pirate and Maliutka can start to chase you while you are walking in the garden and circle around the box one pick the vegetables as if trying to give possible assistance. If you will call them silently: “Kiss-kiss”, Pirate making his tender mewing sounds will start to walk toward you on his prettily symmetrically colored black and white paws, twinkling his fluffy tail, coming to say you tender hi. So you will stat to pet him in reply and he rubs against your legs. Here he is – so polite cat, real gentlemen. Maliutka, although she is female, is different. She is wild always frightened with something, why – I do not know, may be she is just born like this. Her eyes are big and in them, weather the fear weather just simple guarded look. They both like to roll around in the sand or the gluey road dry dust and after the tasteful portion of cheese – we tell these double “E” in this word with the special long affect while calling them for snack, so after this delicate food they very caring are licking their faces, mustache and lips and even wash with their tongues each other. The best in these procedures is of course female Malyutka. After she became Mom and even settle her babies I to be the part of the other human families, she takes special like mother’s care and sponsorship towards Pirate. But let’s tell all in turns.
Chapter seven. How our cats became parents and had their own kids.
Do you think it is so easy to get rid of the illusions of the short cat’s childhood and become the parents themselves? Our female cat was hardly one year old when after spring cat’s games with Pirate she caught pregnancy and was getting ready to become a Mom. If you think that we got very exited with this fact- you are mistaken. We had a lot of trouble with these one’s while they grew up in the last year and here they are ready to bring the new progeny? Of course it can be nice fun for them bus concerning us – we can hardly joke! So, on the eve of Easter, Maliutka delivered with the babies. And she brought them to life in the same bottom floor of the trailer were her mother used to hide them while they themselves were babies. His happened April 22 and during all the night I could hardly close my eyes from the scream of the newly born which were not very lucky to have Maliutka around them. Of course she fed them from time to time and then run away to play and leisure, but the kids were for sure cold and alone in there burrow on the tuff metal floor. On the second day their screams became less and less loud, Maliutka with indifferent face was washing on the sun, supported by Pirate. On the third day in the evening the screaming sounds were almost gone, and I understood that if we will not take out form the underground those kittens they would be gone.
I will not jump into all the detailed describing with how many effords my Nastia succeed to pull them through some crack in the floor, I will tell only on the day light were taken three tiny cat’s three day old pets with the closed covered with pleura eyes, crying pitifully and looking for their mothers tit to sock and survive. If you think that Maliutka run immediately to fulfill her mother’s responsibilities, you will be mistaken. Of course, she showed her worries watching how we collect pets into the box and even came with us inside the house to pip inside. But she showed no intensions to sit over there with her kids or even to feed them. I got very nervous because of that – I had better mother’s instinct to her kittens then she did. But as soon as I remembered that we have milk in the fridge, I took it, warmed in and filling the syringe with this warm stuff started with my daughter to feed the screaming from hunger kittens. One of them, the biggest looks like male the same color as his father Pirate, was socking greedily, the other – I guessed female, spotty like her grandmother “Traffic Light”, also was socking but with the less activity. And the third one, weak, who was hardly moving in our palms tiny one showed no intentions to sock at all. The syringe with the warm milk bubbled into his tiny mouth, but he did not try to swallow and the milk itself was leaking out along his dark fur. To save this situation with the regular feeding for all three pets was only the advantage of our cat Maliutka. Because how the other way you can imagine all this process of feeding the pets during the working week when one spent at work out of house 8-10 hours? And the schedule of breeding smallest up requires regular milk every several hours. To resolve this problem was only in power of the mother Maliutka, and she, as if on purpose was trying to run away from all this responsibilities. And even Pirate, by scratching in the door, irritated the situation, as if persuading Maliutka to get out on the air to play and to be with him together - selfish male!!!
 I get seriously mad on them both, they were the real reason of all this troubles and now they are trying to wash their paws up? I was ready on the most decisive punishment toward both of by bellowed cats. And what would you do if you were in my shoes, knowing that the kittens are the candidates to die shortly if their mother will not take nicest care about them. So, we decided: we are going to block the box with the pets and their mother in our bathroom, so nobody could run away. In any case, the pets will find their mother tits and will start to sock. And after the milk will start to leak into their mouths and they will relax and will be happy. And next day on Monday morning we will decide what to do.
 On the nest morning my husband called to the animal’s hospital, discussing our situation and asked the advice what to do. There they greeted our feeding Mom, and ask if they could borrow her with all the pets, to help the others of the same kind, whose mother was recently killed by the car. And also three small kittens were needed to have somebody like our Malyutka around to replace them their passed away mother - cat. You know, its very important for any child to be with somebody who will love you and teach you and treat you nicely The same with animal’s pets. So, the hospital people promised to us that they will take all our current troubles in their hands for free, if we will be agree to replace our cat’s family for a while under their roof. And we were glad to this deals of course too, because Maliutka will not run away from over there and sitting with her pets in the cage will be forced to feed the small one’s. So welcoming was this hospital.
After couple of days we called to find out how are our wards are. The director was happy, saying that our mother cat if becoming wonderful Mom, who is very proud of her small are. And we visited them a week after. There happened that on our request they made for the mother cat small operation to prevent her from the regular fertility and there she laid in separate from the pet’s cage still under the drug’s limbo with her glands full of milk, lost almost more then a pound of her regular weight and with such despair in her eyes that we understood that there is better to be hungry animal in the forest, then fed one in the cage of the hospital or even in the Zoo. Captivity is the greatest grief for any animal or beast especially for those who was grown in the wild nature conditions. That’s why do not try to torture such animals, do not take them from the open forest to the secluded conditions of apartments1 They will suffer for sure!
One week after we took our Maliutka cat back home. The kittens were left in the hospital, but the new families were waiting for them – there are a lot of alone retired folks, who want to have pet at home. We did not even say final good-bye for our new friends, so upset we were with the exhausted, looking lost and skinny Maliutka. It even seemed that if her imprisonment will last a little bit more – her death would be inevitable. We could judge this from her desperate eyes…
At home pined with grief our Pirate was waiting for her. Although he, having no one of his kind, started to spend more time with us, people and even started to talk with us on his special, invented during the worries about his sister and wife in one face time, new cat’s language. I having never seen before any romantic relationships between animals now can say with confidence: animals are similar to the people. Only the language they talk are different.
Chapter eight. Home coming.
When the car drove towards the yard, I cautiously opened the box with Maliutka cat: I was wondered how she will feel, how she will recognize so familiar before world? The cat, minute ago seeming to be indifferent to everything, timidly pulled her nose out to breath the fresh forest air. It seemed that our village oxygen impressed her and she breath air again, now more intensively and started to look around. Then quick jump and she was on the freedom! It was interested to know how Pirate would meet her? He was not far from her. And Maliutka, having climbed on the porch, raced immediately with all her suffered several week soul towards him. But she was astonished with his seeming indifference to her. Our boy decided to show his offend on her absence, for sure having though that his wife left him on her will, having knew nothing about all those troubles she was faces last couple of weeks. So, Maliutka was facing the new stress emotions, because the Pirate, her brother and husband seemed not to wait any more for her, do not trust to her any more, have no faiths in their together. Although her came close to smell under her trailer order to understand if it was the same lady he used to be charmed with. He smelled and gone under the trailer to stay in shade. And Maliutka was left alone, first time in her life facing not only the personal female’s drama in her soul and all the troubles she had with the motherhood, but also first time in her life having known what was like his betrayal.
 Chapter nine All settled back as before.
Days came one after another. Our victim ate very rarely, drank from time to time a few glimpses. Most of the day she laid on the morning Sun and in the shade in the daytime, blown by the fresh breeze, which came from the forest and was rehabilitating slowly. It took her not a day, not even two weeks to recover completely, but one day there came the moment watching washing on the porch small cat, with before dull and now sparkling on the sun fur and having caught her eyes view I understood that Maliutka is not sick any more, having forgotten all bad that happened with her in the several past months. Pirate at the same time showed not care about her, like it was in the time of their wedding and expectation the kids, while they ate together from the same plate and slept side by side in the cat’s house warming each other in the cold night. But he did not offend her at the same time. Although her build cruel hierarchy in their relationships: first he was supposed to eat from the plate, then she, after he finished. Poor girl got used to it, she was still continuing to love in him brother if not a husband. And usually she got after him not the best pieces of course. That’s why our Pirate grew in his sizes as it should be with the one year old cat, and Maliutka, gotten skinny after her diseases, surgery and new rules of behavior although did not shrink but not grow too. And soon she became three times smaller in sizes then Pirate. As for me, while remembering the period of their engagement and while expecting kids, it seemed a little bit offensive, that Pirate acted as the real macho, who usually takes care about the lady (I mean the cat lady too) only when he is in love? And then makes everything flow on its own will or just invent the new rules and regulations. But the kind hearted soul of Maliutka did not keep evil thoughts about her brother and all the troubles got settled by themselves, without destroying anything in cat’s relationships.
It a pity- I thought – watching through their old photos, that the lady cat while only started her wedding life was faced so many stresses. From the picture on me watched the happy couple – fiancé Pirate in the pink crown and his fiancée Maliutka, all covered with the sparkling white veil, that we borrowed from our dolls. They were sitting on our knees and we pictured their faces while touching each other as if for kiss, giving their solemn oath on faithfulness. The idea to hold such ceremony of the wedding came to my head when we understood that the increasing sizes of the growing bell of the newly expected mom and decided that it will be not good for the cats-pets to be born without having their parents married, we hold quickly and alas, without the priest the wedding ceremony. So, my memory just pictured as well as the real photo these sweethearts, starting their mutual romantic adventure through the life, tem full of sweet illusions that tomorrow will be as good as today, not ready to meet any difficulties. Alas, if you know as they told in proverb, where you will fall you will put the mild carpet to smooth it.
Watching current relationships of this already experienced couple, which passed the numerous troubles in their destinies, about which we will tell later on, I probably will be allowed to tell, that their alliance survive through all the time due to the small, fragile and on the first glance even not too attractive kitten Malyutka, who in the relationships with her beloved Pirate, opened her heart, and preserve the wisdom and flexibility, similar to the genuine king adviser Taleiran, who lived in England on the borders of already passed centuries. Or may be the flexibility, faithfulness and smartness – just the common spread female qualities?
Chapter ten. The vicissitudes of life, or the name – it’s the fate.
Leaving during the summer time for couple of days to the shore in Gulf Port, we always asked out grandpa to take care about the cats, simply to put food in their place twice a day. The cats, as usually ate, but also remembered about us and when we came back they rubbed around our legs with gentle “miayu”. But one time on our return only Maliutka met us. Pirate himself was sitting aside looking very depressed. Some time after we understood the reason of his untypical behavior. It was simple like shiny day, cleared as any thing on bright sun: our Pirate was bitten with some other animal. His right eye was half covered and leaking: anything hurt from the right side of the body in the hidden esoteric meaning meant the problems with the other male. As well as the hurt from the left side usually show that the reason has come from the female side. To explain all this simply our hero jumped into fight with the other male cat. What was the reason: the sharing of the territories, piece of food or the new female - who knows? But it seemed that our cat fought till his last drop of power, and taking in consideration the sizes of his paws, the strength of his attack could be hard to anyone… We did not succeed to take him inside the house: Pirate was not in mood and stayed away from us, shortly after the foods he just simply run away. But day passed after the day, and the cat got more relaxed, became more domesticated and his half opened eye became better, recovering. And this time I first thought that the name – it’s the fate. Who knows, if we did not name him for the beginning with the name “Pirate”/ may be his eye would be never damaged. And for now we had the one-eyed cat, looking just as the well-known image of real pirate, which we had seen in the books and cartoon movies. With the animals everything is the same with the people. And the laws if destiny, which runs the human beings, the same, can apply for the world of our brothers-relatives.
Chapter eleven and for now final one. How we live with them…
So, we live with them, peaceful and tolerant, so called “soul to soul”. Pirate enters the door of our house almost every evening and stayed with us usually for the night. He sleeps not only on the carpet in the big room but often jumps into my bed with the tender rumble and sweet kisses. Because of that I call him “the son”. Every time he comes for a visit, I brush his hair around his head and face. Maliutka, despite of all the invitations to enter, visit us rarely – may be she prefer to stay in wildness and just scare of the human home and Pirate itself, who if she come first to the plate, will beat her with the paw. It means, that he still continue to be the boss in their world. So, Maliutka, respect the hierarchy and till now consider Pirate to be the super God. But he is also the boss for her, and king and prime minister.
The cathouse itself is not used for now – till the late frosts their stay the summer actors- spiders. Our father get used to the presence of this newly members of the family, and he even enjoy when the cats, rubbing against the legs, beggar with their songs the refreshments – slice of cheese or something else. What else? Ah, I remember! The dog Stretch, having seen days and nights such noisy neighborhood of the visiting and settling cats, moved away to grandpa’s house nest door. But once a day, on the old regular bases is visiting us and even starts the dialogue of sniffing with the male origin representative of the cat’s family.
Personally to me, who never before this case kept the animals at home or watch them so close around the home, this peaceful family size experiment brought a lot of enjoyment. And I am going to prolong it- I mean to establish peaceful coexistence for two families- the human’s and the pet’s one’s. And if you have got any interest in the story about our cats, I will one day, continue the description of their life’s. And for now I recommend you the photos from the family cat’s album. Thank you for the attention, and let’s make friendship. Do you have some pets?
And by the way, you are welcome to visit our cats from brief excursion!..
Write me through Internet on ntkachenko@yahoo.com
Yours truthfully
Natali,
August Mississippi 2002-2004