The cat

You can learn a lot from a cat. He eats when he is hungry, he sleeps when he is tired. He can sit still for long periods of time staring out a window in peace. He can go hunting if he has to, run fast and fight if needed. He can hide under a bush as well as he can roll around flat on the ground in the heat of the sunshine.

He is a seasonal clock that puts on extra warming kilos during winter just to slim down in the most natural way for the summer. He spends a lot of time inside during the winter months but we hardly see him at home in the summer. He has his routines and he follows them strictly and if we leave him for a weekend he gets upset. He loves to be cuddled, he demands to be cuddled - even if we're not in the mood.

He loves to curl up on things we love the most. Pillows, piles of yarn, blankets and stashes of fabric. Sometimes we find him in the laundry basket or on top of a WiP on my iron board. Most of the time he cuddles up in our sleep-warm messy duvets, making it impossible for us to disturb him to make the bed later on. We leave the bed messy for his sake.

This cat loves sitting in the window, often he pulls the lace curtain to the side with his little paw to look outside. He can also be a pain in the neck as he often wants to go out... And then come in... And then go out... And then come in... uncountable times, especially in the evening.

He can be annoying when things are chaotic and things needs to be done, when one is overwhelmed with needs to be met by children and the Family Enterprise itself.  Then this cat struts around your feet for attention to fill his food bowl, let him out or just to follow him up or down the stairs. Those are the moments when you want to kick the cat out of the way and scream from the top of your lungs that "This cat is f-ing nuts man!!! I got enough on my plate!".

But then we have the days when he cuddles up with a sick child, a mother in the blues our stressed out father. He is tuned in. He knows who needs a little bit of extra attention and love at the perfect time.

And then we have the days when he is on adventures. Long adventures in unknown territories. For not only a day or two but three, four and, five. Days when we start alarming neighbors and search the sides of the roads, walking the woods and calling out his name. Days when we realize what a big part of this family he is.

Our dear Charlie. Charlie who lost his mother when just being a few weeks old. Charlie who grew up in a locked up garage his first months in life as his owners didn't want him in the house making a mess. Charlie who we brought home with his sister Lola and who we came to love and cherish.

Charlie who just two years later would loose his sister and become depressed and different for a long long time. Charlie who adopted the new kitten Frankie Boy a year later and taught him everything he new like an old man should do with a youngster. Charlie who is the only cat that has stayed with us for all this time, in good, bad and ugly times.

Today Charlie is at the vet. He has been in a big cat fight and we discovered a large open wound under his right front leg... We hope Mr Vet can patch him up alright. And we know Charlie soon will be back out there in his cat community on the field. He is a hard nut to crack, one of the oldest in the game now with his 5 years. He has respect and a big territory he protects. We hope to have many more years to cherish with this ginger fur ball. We love him so much.



Kärlek
Annette

Note 12/3/2014: Charlie got 12 stitches and is now at home with a shaved and patched up front leg. He has a plastic cone on his neck and he hates it. He is also stuck inside which makes him incredibly miserable. Tomorrow we have a check up and hopefully the cone will be removed so he can scratch his neck, eat, drink and sleep properly and go back outside again. Thanks for all your sweet comments and get well wishes. Our animals sure hits a soft spot of compassion in us all. //Annette