The cat who came in from the cold. (original) (raw)

During the Ice Age, circa January 2018, we worried about our outdoor cat Bernard. In freezing weather, especially when the temp plunges to 17 degrees, outdoor cats - no matter how strong and independent they think they are -- need to come inside.

We couldn't find Bernard, also known as the Cross-Eyed Lion. (His beautiful blue eyes are crossed.)

We wondered if that was why his former owner, a rancher, gave him to the SPCA where we adopted him. Home on the range, Bernard may have had a problem discerning what was what - like he thought maybe a rattlesnake was a curled-up water hose or a raccoon was a rat or something.

Peeping through the blinds during the coldest of the cold days, we couldn't see any of Bernard's gang either. He runs around with two other cats, Frank and Gordon. Imagining they are feline characters from "The Godfather," we call them the Corleone Cats. Bernard is Bernardo; Frank is Franco; Gordon is Gardino.

In fair weather the Corleone Cats spend hours lounging around neighborhood swimming pools, and if they could talk, they likely would be ordering drinks from the residents. As the saying goes, cats don't have owners; they have staff.

We definitely have not been enjoying swimming-pool weather of late, and nary a Corleone Cat has been seen pool-side. (Nary a human being, either.)

We learned later that Frank and Gordon were purring safely in their respective homes but still didn't know where Bernard was.

Daughter Jan (who's actually the owner of the Cross-Eyed Lion) kept calling him. As the weather kept getting colder, she was reaching the panic stage, agonizing about his whereabouts and fearing the worst. I kept telling her to chill out (poor choice of words) and that he was OK; he knew people. Cats are survivors, et cetera, et cetera.

What I didn't tell Jan was that I too was worried sick about Bernard. He's a sweetie pie and, despite the unusual arrangement of his eyes, quite beautiful. The SPCA admired him, too, and once featured his photo in the fund-raising SPCA calendar.

Finally, we found out from a neighbor (Frank's owner) that Bernard was warm and cozy inside the garage of another neighbor. His rescuer apparently made him an offer he couldn't refuse -- food, water, a comfy little bed and protection from the Deep Freeze.

He was living it up, and if the cold spell lasted much longer, I doubt he would ever want to leave. But he will. After the ice melts and we welcome a bit of global warming, Bernardo, Franco and Gardino will find a pool to lounge around again. They need the rest, poor babies, after all they've been through.

Ciao!

©

Wanda Orton Baytown Sun Columnist
"Wandering" January 14, 2018 column