” If animals could speak , the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.” —Mark Twain
The Cat of the House by Ford Madox Ford
Over the hearth with my ‘minishing eyes I muse; until after
the last coal dies.
Every tunnel of the mouse,
every channel of the cricket,
I have smelt,
I have felt
the secret shifting of the mouldered rafter,
and heard
every bird in the thicket.
I see
you
Nightingale up in the tree!
I, born of a race of strange things,
of deserts, great temples, great kings,
in the hot sands where the nightingale never sings!
Have you ever had a pet cat? What do you remember about them?
Our last cat was Angel. She was my daughter’s pet and then I inherited her when my daughter went off to college. Here is a little story about her.
An Angel
Angel loved to go into our backyard and make her rounds. She would inspect the perimeter and all the rest as well. There were times when she would catch things to our dismay. She was a cat, after all, and cats do hunt things.
One day I was in the yard and Angel caught my eye. She was standing in front of the patio screen door with something in her mouth. It was a fairly large rat! I thought with a growing apprehension , Did I close the screen door all the way? Angel was good at getting her paw into the gap and pushing the door open.
I had to think fast. Angel would be in the house with the rat in a flash. I picked up the garden hose and turned on the water. Angel hated that sound. I pointed the hose in her direction and said, “Drop it! ”
If you think cats aren’t smart and don’t understand you, I suggest you reconsider that judgment.
Angel ,with the rat still in her mouth, made this little disappointed sounding meow. Like a dejected sigh, ” Awww.” Then she dropped the rat.
The rat kind of staggered away across the yard a bit stunned but unharmed.
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 
Angel sounds like quite the character. 🙂 We had cats when I was very young and then for a short time when I was a teenager but it turned out that my dad and I are both allergic to cats. When I married my husband, he had a cat. She liked to sleep on my chest. She was a playful, friendly little cat and I really did love her but we thought it was best to find another home for her since it was important that I be able to breathe.
I would love to have a cat. I have actually researched hypo-allergenic cats but it was hard enough getting my husband to agree to Ari, our dog.
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I think many people are allergic to cats. Can you believe that I am allergic to dogs. At least the ones that shed. But not so severely that I can’t be around them for short periods.
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I’m actually allergic to some dogs that shed but not all. My cat allergy is much more severe- to the point that I will show a reaction rather quickly.
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Yes I know people can have strong allergies to cat and dogs.
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Dear Deborah, Twain was so utterly and unequivocally incorrect in his stereotyping of dogs.
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Really? I guess we could exclude Poodles. They are pretty reserved. 🙂
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You certainly showed Angel who ‘the top dog’ was! 🙂
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I miss her. 🙂
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We are currently shared by two cats, but I think it’s them that have us, not the other way round.
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Pets can have that effect on us can’t they. 🙂
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I read this with my sweet tortoiseshell panther-girl, Squeak, curled up on the microfleece blanket right by my knee, sound asleep. She lived feral for the first 7 months of her life, and moved in with us the same day she was captured and spayed.
She is incredibly affectionate, very athletic, and it’s hard to believe that she was never touched by a human until that day. She’s so social, she follows me around, and after every trip outside, she comes to claim me all over again.
I’ve always shared my life with cats, and I can’t imagine not doing so.
But I don’t think dogs are blundering. I think they simply reflect us back to ourselves, so maybe that’s what Twain saw?
The dog who shares our lives is kind of goofy, but he’s not usually blundering…
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Well he does have some complimentary quotes about dogs as well. So this is not his final word. I do think of cats as the more graceful and reserved. Many people like the way dogs want to jump all over you. I think they do have different demeanors.
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