Lisa Valerie's Photoblog
Reba was a funny looking cat
Posted by lisa v (Gawler, Australia) on 11 October 2008 in Animal & Insect and Portfolio.
This entry is for 'Caturday', a challenge by Kylie Greenan. Please go to her blog to see other participants.
http://kgreenan.aminus3.com
Reba was a funny looking cat.
With that 'mask' on her face.
And the back of her head flattened the way it was.
As she got older she developed a tail that looked like a big feather duster. And a mottley , long haired, tortoiseshell coat. These things did'nt enhance her looks. They just made her look even odder than she already did.
She was'nt too bright either. Kinda dopey and dozey.
She was premature so perhaps she had problems we were unaware of. Sometimes I wondered about her hearing for instance. And her eyesight.
She was a great hunter , though it was all in vain. She did'nt quite get the concept of hunting.
Instead of going after something she saw or going off in search of something she would try to 'will' the prey to come to her.
She spent many happy hours patiently watching and waiting but never catching anything. I'd often watch her sitting in the same spot for a good half hour, staring intently, keeping vigil over a patch of ground where perhaps she saw something move the day before.
Then she'd move over to the next patch and do the same thing. She could spend a whole morning happily engaged in this 'non-activity' which she called hunting.
You'd think she'd give up, seeing as she never caught anything, especially as the other cats were so good at it but no, she persisted , though it must have been a bit embarassing for her.
The only time I ever saw her with her own 'catch' it was'nt actually hers, her mother gave it to her, probably in sympathy.
She was'nt an affectionate girl except when I was gathering grass and thistles for the rabbits.
She loved getting in my way while I was doing that, took great pleasure in it, me not so much. She'd climb on my lap and rub on my leg and try and trip me up and purr like mad, in a way she did'nt usually bother with. She'd race madly up trees and so on while I was walking about, showing off for me.
I don't know what it was about that particular activity that got her so excited and friendly but every day she did the same thing.
She would often sample the grass and thistles, or pellets or whatever else I gave the rabbits.
She never seemed to retain the memory of having tried it a couple days ago and no, it was not particularly yummy.
As I said, not too bright.
One evening recently I noticed she was quieter than usual but did'nt think a lot of it.
But then we realised she was missing. By the next evening we went looking for her.
My partner had made the cats a two storey bed, which has a curtain hanging down over the bottom level.
It sits on our verandha.
After searching fruitlessly we noticed that the other cats were sleeping on a chair swing instead of in their bed.
So my daughter drew aside the curtain and there was our Reba...dead.
She was only a baby still, not even a year old.
We don't know why she died.
Maybe she ate something she should'nt have. Maybe she had a heart condition we did'nt know about. Maybe something bit her. Who knows?
I sure do miss her though, I miss her so much.
I bet the rabbits miss her too, she was great friends with the rabbits.
And I would'nt mind a bit now if she got in my way.
