I know I've mentioned the feral cat population around here. They all look different, but I'm sure they are highly inbred at this point...no definitive breeds amoung them. I've often wondered how many people who live here have lost their once human friendly pets to the pack...pride...whatever you would call a group of feral hou...cats. I started to call them 'house' cats, but I'm not sure if the bulk of them could be categorized that way as I'm sure they were born in the wild. At any rate, I mention the feral cats for a reason. As I've definitely mentioned more than once, I've been dealing with insomnia and a less than desirable sleep schedule lately. Each morning rather early (around 8:00 or 9:00) I venture out for Glenn's newspaper and sometimes a Mickey D's coffee (the hot mocha is quite tastey). The past couple of mornings I have seen a particular cat. A cat with presence. Bigger than the average house cat, he walks strongly along, ears flattened, and a look on his fuzzy face that says "nobody better fuck with me". The moment I saw him I thought 'he's the cat in charge'. I don't exagerate when I say that he's the size of a small dog. Not a tiny, shakey, Barney Fife Tea Cup Chihauhau sized dog...I can't even think of a breed that would be a good comparison. Lets just say that for a housecat, he's a big'un. His coloring says 'tabby', his ears tipped with white like a Lynx. Stocky in build, you can tell that he's solid. I'm sure that he keeps the other local cats in line. Shows them who's in charge. He lumbers around the area over near the trash dump like its his turf. (I don't have any real proof, but I suspect that the cat 'clan' lives in that general area. I see them around there most of the time.) Nothing seems to phaze him. He walks along with purpose. He just exudes 'tough'. The other cats I've seen in that area are very skiddish. That's why I think Vinnie is the head honcho. Yeah...I've named him 'Vinnie'. He seems like a Vinnie. Ya know, I've mentioned how I want to explore down Stephen King Trail. Believe I've also mentioned that when I passed by the mouth of S.K. Trail that evening right around Halloween, I heard the screaming and wailing of cats. Inhuman sounding and dark, I can invision what that cat fight might have been like. Vinnie either looking on, or participating...protecting his turf...knocking a challenger to his throne back a peg or two. A major contender in the cat world. (Maybe one day when I have the camera with me I'll have another sighting. I'll post a pic so you'll see what I mean.) I'm sure the scene I picture in my mind is more dramatic than the actual event. My creative writers' brain turns it into a scene out of a fantasy novel. Like 'Tailchaser's Song', or something like it. It's the only fantasy novel about cats I can think of...
Why did I mention this? For whatever reason, I thought it worth mentioning. I've always liked cats. Had them when I was younger. As I've gotten older, I've developed more of a fondness for dogs. Think a dog is the pet I would choose now. However, a cat like Vinnie...now that would be my kind of cat. The only drawback would be whether or not I could pet him. Something tells me if I tried to, I'd draw back a nub...
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