Carnival Cat

This morning, as I sit in my warm home, enjoying its comfort and a hot cup of caramel drizzle coffee, my meandering mind turns to cats. “Cats?” you may well ask because the only pet I have is a dog, drowsing on the carpet near-by, but in the past, I have made the acquaintance of cats a-plenty and I still share my house with a few inanimate ones. For example, there’s the once-colorful chalk cat who sits in a corner of the hallway, looking a little the worse for wear. I found him at an antique store in Tahlequah several years ago, and although he looked battered and neglected, he retained some of his former beauty and dignity. He may have begun life as a carnival prize somewhere; that, I’m not sure of. However, despite his dim and doubtful past, he appealed to me. I bought him and brought him home. He has been with me since then.

My son Matt had a gray cat when he was a youngster. He named the cat D. C. for Darned Cat. D. C. had a quiet, unassuming personality but she could make herself known with long, hard stares and silent meows and was with us for many years.

Marshall was a beautiful orange stray who sauntered in one day, to Manos Meadows. He was definitely not quiet and unassuming. He had an appetite bigger than he was and when he was hungry, which was often, he paced the window ledge, peering in and yowling.

Little Rinehart was a Manx and a good friend of Matt’s dog Lady. When Rinehart jumped out of my arms one day and disappeared, frightened by the noise of traffic, Lady missed him and voiced her loneliness with pitiful howls. I missed him too and, although I felt like howling, I didn’t. I hunted for him but he had disappeared forever.

These cats have padded into and out of my life on their silent paws, each one with a different personality and each one leaving a memory. Except, of course, for the inanimate cats and certainly, Carnival Cat who stayed. Who knows all the comings and goings he has seen through the years? I suppose that is a mystery that will remain unsolved. The little cat at the end of the hall keeps his own counsel.

The Carnival Cat