Our beloved cat died a few years ago and we miss having a cat around the house.
Mr G was never a cat man until we met, some 20+ yrs ago. In fact he thought he didn't like cats. I wasn't having any of that. My two moggies ( long gone, alas) converted him, and since then we rescued one to share.
We adored her, Mr G spoilt her rotten, and when she died 15 yrs later we didn't get another, deciding the heartbreak was so awful, devastating, and we could at last take off at a whim without the cost and need for kitty care.
However, he's inadvertently become a cat whisperer.
I love his adoration for cats. He's in the garden most days and it's quite large. A neighbour's cat had taken to resting under the shade of shrubs but if The Man approached, the cat would take off. Over a few weeks the cat became more trusting...appearing whenever he heard Mr G in the garden.
It eventually came up for chin rubs, and would purr around his legs, then plonk itself down on the lawn in full sight to observe, groom, snooze and every so often obstruct his digging or wedding or whatever, to get a bit of fuss, which Mr G gladly gave.
No food was given, the cat wasn't encouraged into the garden but it obviously enjoyed the peace and quiet and company of Mr G.
Now...months later, it's on the feline grapevine that Mr G and the lady of the house are cat friendly.
Mr G now has the company of 4 neighbourhood cats most days, all well fed and looked after, who visit him regularly..
They arrive a bit timid but soon relax, sit under shrubs, roll around on the terrace, make themselves comfy on the lawn and generally make the garden their meeting place. They seem to know each other. The gardener has named for them too. We have Percy, Monty
Alan and Hammy.
Mr G is predictable. Named after tv gardeners.
They seem to enjoy being in the company of a cat man who'll talk to them, acknowledge them and not shoo them away. He'll leave bowls of water out, but we make a point of not feeding them, given we know all too well the worry caused when a beloved cat disappears from home.
The cats come and go and we never allow them into the house.
Mr G can't help being a pussy magnet. Ahem.
Last week we sat out in the garden after the sun had set and one by one our cat visitors appeared. The big Maine Coon ( Monty, but we don't know his real name ) from three doors down sat at my feet, Percy the chunky tabby watched us from under the Apple tree, Hammy, grey with blue eyes jumped on the table and sniffed our wine, and Alan, black, fluffy and the most imperious, viewed from afar, like a supervisor.
It was slightly Twilight Zone-ish but magical too, knowing these cats from round and about liked to hang out with us.
So yes, cats do wander and can be very sociable. This quartet have adopted Mr G and they've come to accept my presence in the garden too.
We feel honoured that we don't scare or unnerve them, but we are equally aware they have homes, so musn't encourage them to stray.
Cats do their own thing, and always have.
