I guess I’ve learned that you really do not own cats. You only borrow their affection and time every so often. In spite of all of that, I’ve grown very fond of our cats. “Mellow Yellow,” a small, male Orange Tabby, recently underwent the knife for neutering and also was given the medicine and shots he will need to stay healthy. He was only subdued in his activities for about half a day. And it wasn’t long before he was wrestling and ambushing his older sibling in all parts of the house and yard.
We’re learning that cats are very particular about what they eat, and that can change from day to day. (You would think that former starving cats would be less particular, but that is not the case.) So my wife goes through this cat food roulette to try to get the boys to eat what she puts in front of them. It is an amazing guessing game.
The young, male cats normally spend the night closed in on the back porch, but we find they are not happy with that. The other night we allowed them to go outside for the night and our sleep was interrupted when a thunderstorm rolled through the area with lightning, thunder and rain. We opened the back door and the young cats, who normally love the outdoors, could not wait to get back inside. (They were also hungry.) So, after a three o’clock feeding, all of us finally managed to get some sleep.
The youngest amongst them, “Mellow,” likes to spend some time on my lap. But the other male, “Magic,” who is a beautiful, black cat, has grown so that he would barely fit there. So he likes to spend his time on the sofa being petted by my wife.
“Orange Crush,” the female Orange Tabby we call “O.C.,” is calming down tremendously since arriving at our house. She was either beaten or mal-treated in some way and is still afraid of her own shadow. But I am allowed, now, to feed and pet her, which is a long way from where she was when she came to us.
Watching these cats play, stalking bugs and birds, and in general living their lives in and about our property, is indeed a blessing. Frankly, we just love these little guys. Maybe it’s age, maybe it’s circumstance, or maybe I’ve always been a closet cat lover. But “O.C.,” “Magic,” and “Mellow,” have changed our perspective, and our worry rate, with the amount of love given and received.
We’ll keep you posted.
Ronn Mott, a longtime radio personality in Terre Haute, writes commentaries for the Tribune-Star. His pieces are published online Tuesday and Thursday on Tribstar.com, and in the print and online editions on Saturday.
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RONN MOTT: Cat Report
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RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
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It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
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The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
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I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
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Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
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RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
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RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
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LIZ CIANCONE: We always want more than we need
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FLASHPOINT: Indiana lawmakers reinforced school safety mechanisms
Nothing is more important to me than the safety of my children. Every parent has felt that instant, apprehensive rush when their child plays too close to the street or falls down while playing soccer and it is our responsibility as parents to implement every safety mechanism we can muster to protect our kids.
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College Class of '13 gets a little extra advice
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