Zip has been with us for nearly half a year, and I am still learning things about him. He is an explosive animal, landing like a bomb in the middle of a quiet and stable farm. I’m just figuring out his warm-weather schedule.
In the morning, he sleeps somewhere in the barn. When I get up, or Maria does, he appears on the back porch, eager to be fed.
After eating, he disappears; we have yet to determine where he goes. I know he visits his new pals in the Pole Barn, goes out into the marsh on both farmhouse sides and hunts in the woods behind the pasture.
As I’m told, cats are only partially domesticated; at least, he is very much a free spirit.
I know he goes into the hay loft and has chased the rats out of the woodshed and the barn. I know he circles the farm and checks on everything – Maria, me, the hens, their roost, the front porch, the back, the area below the front porch. I’ve never seen him in the North or South pasture.
Sometimes, he walks with me when I go outside. Sometimes, he is nowhere to be found. Sometimes, he is up in the woodshed.
By 2 p.m., he is napping on the back porch, either in the wicker chair with its soft blanket or the towel Maria put on the above table. He loves towels and blankets. He sleeps profoundly and for several hours.
He stays on the porch as long as the sun is on it and disappears when it is gone. I need to see where he goes or know where he goes. Sometimes, when I go out to the barn to check on the rooster or the animals, she pops out of some secret hiding place to visit me and get some scratching.
I know he loves fish like salmon bits and leavings. When it’s nice, he sits on my shoulder in one of the chairs. He purrs and settles until something moving on the ground catches his eye. Then he is gone.
I know he is very independent. When I think about it, he is much like me and Maria. Please don’t let him know what to do. This is why it all works.
I know he has befriended the animals, including the hens. I know he is fond of me and Maria and loves to sit with and visit us. I know he loves cat food; he gets some twice a day.
That’s about all I know about him. There are a lot of holes to fill in; cats are creatures of mystery, loving when they want to be and gone when they wish to be.
In a way, he is just like Maria and me.
You’ll likely never fill in the holes as to *what* Zip does when not within visible range…….that is why cats are cats! …they prefer (I believe) to remain the mysterious creatures we know them to be! I think they are one of the very few animals who truly can never be fully *domesticated*….they always seem to retain some of their true wildness.
Susan M
My grandpa always said within a household, the order goes as follows-feline, human and if required canine.
I’ve said it before, that you and Maria are knowledgeable, responsible stewards of your animals. Zip is fortunate to be a part of your well-kept herd. Stewardship is based on figuring out what the animal needs, rather than on only what we need from them. I’ve seen how you do this for every animal that has come into your lives. Stewardship is truly unselfish, and is the healthiest way to love any animal or a human. May we all learn from you and Maria.
i love your musings on Zip and am glad you’ve joined the Dark Side of cat lovers! I have his twin with me. They could be brothers!