The Cat Days of Winter

“Jiggles has gained some weight!”- My Kids

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Dogs seem to get all the accolades—from the famous rat terriers and shepherds who have saved the lives of soldiers to Hachiko, the Akita dog who waited nearly a decade for his deceased owner at a bus stop in Tokyo.

Despite some recent posts concerning dogs and house-training, in my heart of hearts I’m a cat person! One of my favorite cats as I was growing up (now long deceased) was called Romeo. He was a jet-black cat that I found in the woods at my grandparents house who had a perfect white heart on his chest. He was a great animal! My wife and I have had several cats during our marriage and the cat we currently have on premises is called Jiggles. He is a dusty gray cat with a decent-sized frame, really as large as a small dog. During his lay-about youth as a spoiled house cat he carried around a bit of weight on the belly and wasn’t very active. His former owners (shout out to Ben and Megan) were selling their house and needed to put him outside occasionally during showings to prospective buyers. Mr. Hyde was born! Sweet Jiggles suddenly became a murderous rogue of the first order and is now known by the mole/mouse/chipmunk population as ShadowTooth.

During a greater portion of the year Jiggles stays slim, trim and mostly outdoors. As cats often do, he leaves trophies of his latest kills at our back steps and very often several times a day during high hunting season. He is a happy hunter…then the mercury drops. Much like the dog days of summer where ‘mans best friend’ lays in the shade of a tree, squints at the sun and pants for water - our cat lays around, glares at the snowflakes swirling around the corner of the house and dreams of better/warmer days! In the meantime he enjoys the hot-air register, frequent snuggles with our kiddos and reverts to the lackadaisical lifestyle he enjoyed in his youth.

At the end of the day we all have our favorite times, seasons, holidays, jobs, projects, people, pets, etc. During the times we are not in our favorite places or with our favorite people, reflect on our dogs being miserable in the heat and our cats pouting at the cold, and know that one day the trail will be over and the challenge shall pass. The person who emerges on the other side will be stronger, wiser, and will likely carry a greater confidence than when it began! If our pets can do it, so can we!

So take heart, grow with your efforts, and live your Default Life!

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