The Earl and His Breakfast

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 30 August 2008 20:30:59

Earl Gray the tomcat has reminded us that he can take care of hisseff.

This morning before sun-up I took the dog, Loup, out to... erm... leave messages around the property. Um... yeah. That's what dogs do. Loup had to go check his pee-mail. *Snort*

Anyway, as we were walking back up the drive to the main door under the carport, Earl did his usual sinuous weaving about under equipment and around table legs on the carport, there in the pre-dawn dark, wanting to come inside for his usual morning shot at the kitty kibble. Or so I thought --

It occurred to me that he was oddly silent, but I didn't catch the significance at first.

Usually Earl is very vocal. That, and his snakelike rangy ways, and his litter-mates' coloring, all that leads me to believe he's got a Siamese grandparent somewhere. You know how they are -- lots of "talking".

But, ol' Earl Gray was silent, and even more discreet and stealthy than usual in making his way indoors to the spot where I feed him.

I unleashed the dog, hung up the leash; Loup made sure everyone else who was awake received the obligatory wet dog nose "Good Morning".

Still no vocalization from the cat. He hadn't much kibble left down under that chair where I keep his bowl... and he'd never been happy with scattered remnants of kitty kibbles. He wants fresh, and if possible a canned treat atop the pile. He says so, insistently and loudly, with much ankle-stropping.

But, this morning, nothing.

Hah! Turns out, he didn't fuss for more food and attention, and he hadn't anything to say, because his mouth was full! When I finally had a moment to bend down and look at him more closely, I found him very efficiently munching on the final third of a squirrel.

He ate it all, too. Down to the end of the tail and the tippy-tippy toenails. And he let Loup know, with one almost-silent growl, that he was in no mood to share.

So, I am reminded that I need not worry about Earl if/when we have to evacuate. Not any more than one always has concerns about a cat outdoors, anyway. No extra worries in bad weather, really -- he has plenty of places to hole up. And if I am trapped out of town for a day or two... I doubt the fella will starve... and if, God forbid, I am unable to come home for a week or even two... Frankly, a weather-disturbed neighborhood with no people usually has quite a few bold, careless rats. I suspect Earl would clean up.