We All Miss You, Lisa

Don’t worry Lisa; your absence in person from Waters Edge is more than made up by the emotional and spiritual void you have left behind. Having said that, Mark and Emily are coping with life’s pressures just fine. Emmy still does her chores around the homestead like picking up the leaves and folding the laundry, Mark still cleans up and remembers to feed the cats and Emily – he even occasionally remembers to pick her up from school. But be assured that we still have a longing in our heart and "a tear in oor een" awaiting the return of the matriarch.

But the real tale (tail) of the hour is the changing behaviour of Ow the cat. Ow is one of our two cats – the other being the docile, rather weight conscious (fat-ish), black Colonel. Ow has always been somewhat of a curmudgeon and a little violent to boot – hence his name. Well, he has started to get more quirky – his mood is never right, he’s always quick to lash out….he just never seems happy (remember I’m talking about the cat not Mark – in case there was some confusion). This morning was a case in point. As usual while Emmy was in the shower, Mark started to feed the cats. Ow and the Colonel were eagerly circling the food bowls in usual anticipation when Ow suddenly got up on his hind legs (Animal Farm like) and pushed into Mark. There was spitting and gnashing of teeth. As the disciplinarian, Mark reprimanded Ow with a threat of being put out. At this point Ow turned to rub against the Colonel but had a benevolent look in his eye. The next instant he leapt and caught the Colonel in a half nelson pinning him to the floor. Needless to say there was black fur flying and a look on the Colonel’s face of surprise, befuddlement and, yes, disappointment at being treated so callously by his erstwhile brother.

Now Ow is getting up there in years – I guess he must be 14 now – so maybe that has something to do with it. Also he has lost both his fangs which must have given him grief. Whatever it is we don’t like it (particularly the Colonel) and hope that this does not progress as he gets older. Cat behavior does change over time but we’d be interested to hear if anyone else has experienced this or can suggest anything.

Of course it may just be that he is missing Lisa!