We have a feline follower
I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I have some strange cats. One of the strangest is a little fellow who lives in the barn but frequents the back porch. I believe he believes he is a dog.
From the time he arrived here, he has followed my son around, but it became particularly noticeable this summer. If my sidekick and I were outside digging, and he went to the house for a drink, the cat would follow, close at his heels. When he returned, so did the cat. He would lie near my son’s job site as long as my son was busy, and when my son quit, so did the cat.
Recently, my son decided he should accompany me on my daily walk, and it has been a nice time. We get to talk one on one, and I get to hear a lot of his ideas for his life. Some are quite humorous. But now we have a problem, in that this cat wants to follow us everywhere we go. (Correction: He only follows my son. If I walk alone, no cat.)
A few nights ago, we got a late start and needed to traverse about two miles. We had only gone a few feet when we heard meowing from behind. A quick peek over my shoulder and I could see this little guy trying to keep up.
Because we walk on a township road, and especially because it was dusk, I was not keen on him following us. I skidded some gravel in his direction, hoping to startle him back inside our fence. No luck. We decided to take off running in hopes we could outrun him. No luck. Finally, after about a half-mile, I looked back and he wasn’t there anymore.
Figuring he had tired and went home, we slowed our pace and began the trek back. We crested a small hill and saw our neighbor outside, shaking food into a dish – and that little stinker of a cat eating it!
I spoke to my neighbor so we didn’t scare her to death by silently approaching in the dark, and assured her the cat was not another drop-off, as she feared. Of course, I couldn’t get the cat to follow me until he finished eating, so we made another loop and got him on the way home.
Any time we got too far ahead, he simply sat down and started meowing this loud, heartbreaking, “why-did-you-leave-me” cry, until we finally went back and picked him up and carried him home.
And now, almost a week later, he is still attempting to go with us daily, and we have become ninja-like in our attempts to leave. I go noisily out the back door, while my son sneaks down the front steps as silently as possible. It is only moderately successful.
Half of the time, we end up making loops through the barnyard and pasture instead, which is fine because it’s the same distance, but the terrain’s unevenness is difficult in the dark. I know I could just go earlier, but I wouldn’t want the cat on the road regardless.
Maybe I’ll get a harness and leash and take him with me. Worst-case scenario, he’d start to run when he saw the equipment, and I could walk in peace.
Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.