The Black Cat (Part 1)

Hello All,

There has been a black cat hanging about my house for nearly 6 months, now. When I was away in June for three weeks, it camped out on my balcony according to my neighbor.

I've had several experiences with cats. When living in the State Park, two that I remember came and went, like cats do. One day they adopt you and then, when their mission is done, they leave for another adventure. In both of those cases the cats were lovable, that is to say, they would allow you to pet them, pick them up, etc. One even took a walk with me into the State Park one day. That was a hoot, because the Park is full of "lions, and tigers and bears, OH MY!" Poor little guy followed me for about 2 miles and insisted I carry him the two miles back. He never walked with me again.

And currently I have a pet cat. Mr. Woody. He's 2 years old and yellow. A mighty fine cat. He's a great little hunters. In the best of the year, he catches two things a day. Could be a rabbit, squirrel, gopher, lizard, or bird. I've had all of them presented to me at some time or another. And the little guy eats them all. Quite the gourmand. Woody comes and goes as he pleases from a cat door off an upper balcony. Many a time he's skidded in to turn around, look out and say, "Whew, that was scary!" He's a one cat cartoon.

So now, here comes this black cat. In the beginning I think Woody would go off with him in the night for joint hunts. It took quite awhile before I got even a glimpse of this cat, because he was so jittery. He just bolts. Well, after a quite a lot of time, I finally got a fix on what was going on.
Woody, though, seemed OK with this interloper. Now they didn't exactly play together, but they would and do hang out in the same space together. Never any fighting. And there are times when Woody just ignores this cat utterly.

So the existential crisis begins. It's now at the point where the black cat (with gray behind his ears) sits patiently, quietly and even sweetly at my front door every morning and every evening. During the summer it didn't bother me, but ye gads, winter is coming on and what oh what am I going to "DO" with it now? It will not let me within 3 feet of it. No way. No how. I don't know if it's fixed. I don't know if it's litter trained. Oh dear, what if it figures out the cat door? What if I relocated it? These are but a few questions that I've agonized over for the past 6 months. What to "DO"? What to "DO"? A typical HUMAN MIND response.

Until one day I thought, this is a riddle. I have a friend who is a shaman, and she tells me animals come to tell us, remind us, support us. OK. Now we have a ballgame!

Stay tuned for Part 2

Thanks for reading!

Kath