Monday, July 30, 2007

Fuzzy People 01

Experimenting with video function of Canon Powershot.



Caoilte, about 10 years old.

Maine Coon, picked up as a stray in September 1997 in a high-school parking lot in Bloomington, IN while exiting a symphony gig. He came and said hello as I ran in with my banjo, I patted him but said "I'm so sorry, I can't take you!" and dragged myself inside feeling guilty. Played the gig (Gershwin "Catfish Row" suite from Porgy & Bess, on banjo), ran out of the parking lot before the last piece in the concert so as to beat the crowd, and he was still waiting for me. Realized that if I didn't pick him and get him out of there, he was sure to get pancaked by the rush of Hoosiers driving out of the parking lot. Took him home, left him the van overnight (to avoid territorial disputes with resident orange Tabby), and we decided to keep him, after leafleting the neighborhood, announcements at shelter and on local community radio.

He's smart as a whip, loves indoor/outdoor status (he has a cat door), tends to stay pretty close to home but will pick ill-advised fights with cats who stray onto his turf, is an inveterate "marker" of the territorial boundaries (thankfully, mostly outside), and is a little bit too accomplished a pouncer and leaper for the safety of the local bird/mouse population. We don't have much trouble with infestations, but we do wind up burying his prey (which he will usually leave in a prominent place for us, as "tribute") more frequently than a Buddhist enjoys.

Thanks to Chipper Thompson for the "fuzzy people" appellation.

Playing when published: Howlin' Wolf, "Highway Man", with the great Hubert Sumlin on guitar

1 comment:

Dharmonia said...

This was really fun to see, especially while traveling, since I miss His Highness terribly.

He's exactly 10, by the way - we adopted him in September 1997.