ms. bing
09-25-2004, 06:16 PM
charles was a good cat. i'm not a big cat lover, but he did all the things a cat was supposed to do. he kept the house free of mice and rats. he fought off wild cats, skunks, armadillos and all manner of pesky critters known in these parts as "varmints". he even killed a snake or two. he would hunt rabbits, but leave the baby bunnies alone. and he was a champion with birds.
one of my most vivid memories of charlie was one autumn morning about ten years ago. i was sitting in the living room right here, in this house. we had all the doors and windows open to let in the cool breeze. charlie was lying in the middle of the floor. a bird, poor lost creature, flew into the open door and was quite startled to find itself in the house. charlie saw it. it flew up by the top of the wall in the living room. with no perceptible motion, charlie lept up and pinned the bird against the wall. they both hung there for about a second, charlie getting a good hold on the birds neck, then he lept down and took the bird outside to dispose of at his will. the whole scene took about 3 seconds to play out. it was wild kingdom right here in this house, and charlie was the king of the jungle. he truly had the heart of a lion.
he never got along well with my dog, ani, but eventually they adopted a live and let live kind of relationship. they would even lay near, but not by, each other in the kitchen. they both recognized advancing years and the hope for a scrap of food or two.
last weekend dad and eva found a small, black, wild kitten in the laundry room. charlie was completely blind now, and hadn't been able to hunt the entire spring or summer. i decided, and dad relented, and the kitten was allowed to stay. i tamed her and named her hermione. she has been only allowed to live outside out of respect for charlie and the desire not to have any more animals in the house. last night dad and i were outside playing with hermione and charlie, for the first time in weeks, came to the door. he was sniffing and listening. he could not see at all, but knew she was there. he tenderly felt his way out of the door and onto the porch. i showed him, from a distance, to hermione. i told her that in his day, he would have whipped her little ass back into the woods, and that she should consider herself lucky that this grandpa was too old to disallow her presence. charlie seemed to understand that the torch had been passed to a new generation. ani went over to him and stood over him, and i thought she was going to pick a fight. i walked past her and tried to call her down. she turned and looked at me with a sad, sorrowful look. she knew his time was over.
this morning dad took charlie to the vet to be put to sleep. the vet said his blood pressure was too high, and that caused his blindness. he had the worst heart murmur she had ever heard in a cat. his kidneys had failed and he only would have lived another day or two.
charlie died of old age. i firmly believe there was nothing on this earth that could have caused his death any earlier. he had fought dobermans, wild animals, and even the occasional human. he loved music, especially the old country remakes of leeann rimes. he loved it so much he learned how to turn on the stereo by himself. he could be tough and fierce, but also tender and sweet.
charlie was a good cat. like the old men in the movie, he was our secondhand lion. and also like the movie, he really lived.
one of my most vivid memories of charlie was one autumn morning about ten years ago. i was sitting in the living room right here, in this house. we had all the doors and windows open to let in the cool breeze. charlie was lying in the middle of the floor. a bird, poor lost creature, flew into the open door and was quite startled to find itself in the house. charlie saw it. it flew up by the top of the wall in the living room. with no perceptible motion, charlie lept up and pinned the bird against the wall. they both hung there for about a second, charlie getting a good hold on the birds neck, then he lept down and took the bird outside to dispose of at his will. the whole scene took about 3 seconds to play out. it was wild kingdom right here in this house, and charlie was the king of the jungle. he truly had the heart of a lion.
he never got along well with my dog, ani, but eventually they adopted a live and let live kind of relationship. they would even lay near, but not by, each other in the kitchen. they both recognized advancing years and the hope for a scrap of food or two.
last weekend dad and eva found a small, black, wild kitten in the laundry room. charlie was completely blind now, and hadn't been able to hunt the entire spring or summer. i decided, and dad relented, and the kitten was allowed to stay. i tamed her and named her hermione. she has been only allowed to live outside out of respect for charlie and the desire not to have any more animals in the house. last night dad and i were outside playing with hermione and charlie, for the first time in weeks, came to the door. he was sniffing and listening. he could not see at all, but knew she was there. he tenderly felt his way out of the door and onto the porch. i showed him, from a distance, to hermione. i told her that in his day, he would have whipped her little ass back into the woods, and that she should consider herself lucky that this grandpa was too old to disallow her presence. charlie seemed to understand that the torch had been passed to a new generation. ani went over to him and stood over him, and i thought she was going to pick a fight. i walked past her and tried to call her down. she turned and looked at me with a sad, sorrowful look. she knew his time was over.
this morning dad took charlie to the vet to be put to sleep. the vet said his blood pressure was too high, and that caused his blindness. he had the worst heart murmur she had ever heard in a cat. his kidneys had failed and he only would have lived another day or two.
charlie died of old age. i firmly believe there was nothing on this earth that could have caused his death any earlier. he had fought dobermans, wild animals, and even the occasional human. he loved music, especially the old country remakes of leeann rimes. he loved it so much he learned how to turn on the stereo by himself. he could be tough and fierce, but also tender and sweet.
charlie was a good cat. like the old men in the movie, he was our secondhand lion. and also like the movie, he really lived.