Absentee Father
“You may think I am as mad as a hatter when I tell you, a cat must have three different names.” The Naming of Cats - T.S. Eliot.
Thutmose has three different names. Usually refered to as Thutmose greytoes - because he has a grey toe on each foot - he is also referred to by a number of less, shall we say, complimentary names. “Miserable bugger” being the latest. Thutmose was a promising kitten for a tom - indeed, I had high hopes for him as he readily lent himself to such tasks as exploring the attic. I’ve included a picture below - you can just about see me offering useful instruction.
Thutmose managed to avoid the dreaded snip for three years. The people who share our abode wanted him to father some kittens, so put off the inevitable until he had done his duty. Well, he did that alright. Ahmose now has two kittens and Berenike is the image of Thutmose - there’s no guessing paternity with that one. Indeed, she is starting to show his attitude as well.
Anyway, I digress. Thutmose is a wanderer. Some tom cats are and that’s all there is about it. It became the norm for him to disappear for a day or two at a time and the people got used to it and shrugged it off. “Oh,” they would say, “that’s just him being a tom cat.” Then he disappeared for three weeks. That changed their tune, I can tell you. They were worried, we could tell. They would sit at their computers tapping in his details to lost cat searches and making telephone calls. All because the randy charlatan was off getting his end away with some tart down the road, no doubt. Then three and a half weeks later he wanders in bright and breezy and twice as ugly with that arrogant yowl of his, demanding dinner like nothing had happend.
That was the final straw for the people - they wisked him down to the vets before you could say “Nefertiti is a very fine cat indeed” and he had the snip. Did that change him? Did it buggery! He still wanders off and they still treat him like royalty when he deigns to honour them with his presence. The more aloof he is with them, the more they fawn for his attention. And they still say what a fine cat he is and what a delightful grey coat he has. I’m missing a trick here, I think.
Added to all of this, he now wants to establish himself at the top of the hierarchy. Damn cheek! I am the top cat around here. He even had the effrontery to chase me up the garden the other day. He chased ME! A quick boxing of his ears put paid to that little game, I can tell you. We’ll be having none of that around here, thank you very much.
