Word must have spread fast.
That explains the queue of catbirds at the birdbath, and the cheeky chipmunks darting in and out of the stone wall and sunning on the top stone with abandon.
Van Gogh, our beloved cat, is dead.
For a decade, he was my constant garden companion, supervising every move. Then he’d head indoors to oversee the domestic chores. The ground still bears the impressions of his favorite napping spots: among the catmint, under the yew hedge, his favorite sunny corner on the patio. Whenever I see the catmint fluttering, I still expect to see him emerge.
He could find an afternoon shaft of light and enjoy its warmth while multitasking. He’d nap and supervise my planting with one eye open. Such were his talents.
We didn’t go looking for a cat.
But 10 Januarys ago, we saw a large orange-and-white cat eating a cardinal beneath our bird feeder. Then we saw him again. And again. We called our nearest neighbor to find out if they had seen him. “We don’t see him. We don’t want to see him. We already have two cats.” As I topped off the bird feeder daily, he was waiting. It was a brutal winter. I went online to learn how to build an outdoor shelter, we put out cans of tuna during the day, talked to him, tried to get close. Every night he disappeared. But he came back every day.
Over the next weeks, we could see that this cat was clearly starving, but too afraid to let us get close. We put his food in the backyard, and we backed off several feet. Every day we backed off less. After many days my husband stayed right by his food bowl and he ate with him standing there. My husband wondered what would happen if he tried to pet him? Would he run? Attack? He was shocked when he just purred. After that, when he would see my husband at his computer through the office window, he’d jump up on the windowsill and demand that he come out and play. He was better at getting affection than most people I know. I decided to let him in the house. He clawed wildly at the door to get back out.
But he came back in. Eventually. We now owned a cat.