I became the primary caregiver for the family cat when my daughter went away to college. I really bonded with Angel and later grieved a great deal when she died. I learned through my relationship with our cat that animals do have their own personalities. Angel was not friendly with everyone and it took a while before she would allow you in. She was very territorial about her little domain and would go berserk if she spotted another cat in our backyard. She would keep watch through our large glass patio doors. She took note of birds and their songs and would mimic them with her own high pitched tweet-like sounds. Her daily routine involved a reconnoiter of our yard to make sure everything was in order. She did hunt small creatures like birds, lizards, and rats. It was upsetting to find her prey in the house or swimming pool. We would rescue them if still alive. I remember making a few trips to local animal shelters or vets to drop off baby birds. Angel was able to bring some catches into our house because she learned how to slide open our screen door. I have a vivid memory of a day I was in the yard and spotted Angel standing at the screen door with a rat in her mouth, her paw positioned to slide open the door. Panicked by the thought of her bringing this latest prize in to our house I quickly grabbed the garden house and aimed it at the cat shouting ‘drop it!’ I swear Angel made a sound like a disappointed sigh, ‘awhhhrr’, and dropped the rat who staggered away.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “animal sounds.” Write about the sounds animals make and how you experience them.
Featured image ‘Woman with a cat’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir via Wikimedia.org
