Mews

A big, fuzzy, gray tabby napped in my front yard this afternoon. Sugar was not pleased. A a rule she will run off any cat who comes into her territory, but this one she only watched through the window, refusing my offer to let her go outside. I recognized the invading cat as a tom who has been around the neighborhood for a couple of years now. I don't know if he has a home or not, but he looks well-fed and his fairly long coat looks to be free of mats. I went out a couple of times and he watched me warily, but didn't allow my presence to disturb his lazing. Because he roams over a considerable distance, it's likely that he's intact. I suppose we'll be seeing younger cats who resemble him for the next few years.

It's quite possible that he's a distant cousin of Sugar, who was herself a stray when she showed up on our door a dozen or so years ago. He might also be a distant cousin of the cats we used to have—Sunni's litter— whose father was a big gray who wandered the area for a couple of years when we first moved here. I can easily imagine this cat being a descendant of that daring fellow who must have fathered at least a few dozen kittens in the neighborhood. It's likely he has hundreds of living descendants by now, scattered all over town. Ah, kitty promiscuity.

It was a nice afternoon for the kitty to be napping. I missed most of it myself, sleeping too late and then being stuck indoors doing early-in-the-month tasks on top of the usual Monday tasks. I didn't even get an evening walk in the back yard. Tomorrow afternoon will be used up, too, as I have an appointment to undergo massive oral invasion and torture, aka tooth cleaning. If I am forced to snarl at a stray kitty, I shall then do it with whiter teeth.