On Saturday morning, September 29, 2012, my friends' cat Hermione apparently jumped the fence in their yard at 9:00 am and has not been seen since. At almost the exact same time, a little cat named Sammie who lived very close by and loved people as much as Sultan was found dead in his yard. They were both sweet little cats who loved life and their opportunity to be outdoors.
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Even while he now lies next to me upside down on top of my expensive leather jacket with a big smile on his puss, it has been a struggle for me to see Sultan become a house cat after having lived in a way in which he got to enjoy a truly free life despite his four previous "caretakers". Before I ever even suspected there might someday be an opportunity for me to actually care for Sultan, I imagined - and stated outright - that if I ever had the opportunity to care for my buddy, I would literally be willing to drive him to "work" each day so that he could continue to enjoy the place that he relished so well, and then pick him up to take him home. Pasadena's first commuting cat.
But as I mentioned in the last post, Sultan has survived odds that astound me... and most others who really think about his life. He lived just off the coyote-filled Arroyo, often had the freedom to go out any time of day and sometimes overnight, and he crossed a busy street at least twice per day for almost eleven years, a street known for full-throttle test drives of 500 horsepower Porsches and Audis from the Rusnak dealerships on Colorado. In addition, the cancer rates for animals kept outdoors in Los Angeles are higher than almost any place in the United States. Add in the use of poisons to control the increasing populations of rats. Not a recipe for the long life of a pet.
Over the past seven months I also had watched a change in Sultan. He stopped taking those walks at the Museum, during which he would show off and run far up every other tree. He also played less and at times seemed much more nervous, of cars, kids, and noises in the night. I remembered my neighbors' semi-abandoned cat, and how he had clearly acted as if something was out there that might get him those last few days before he disappeared at fourteen.
So here Sultan sits, retired from his Mascot / Gate Guard / Pilates Coach positions, and I try to keep him happy and fulfilled.
Today, at his scratching post play station, I built him a mouse-hole castle out of a big box, really a kind of puppet theater for a cat. Various catnip mice pop in and out, while he stares wide-eyed and in shock of the infestation, and then rams himself into the front of the box, reaching far in to grab a mouse or two, then jumps into the air in excitement at having an actual catnip mouse at his feet.
Soon I hope to construct a window shelf upstairs by this computer, so that he can watch the squirrels play and the neighbor work in his elaborate garden, which I hope doesn't make him pine too much for his old days of abandon, but instead will keep him entertained and provide a warm sunny spot through the winter.
Because, after all, he is STILL quite a cat!
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