Not a political post. Just a feel good post. Mostly. About a cat. And I'd post a picture except I'm away from the drives right now that have the picture(s) needed. Years ago my wife and I adopted a big black and white cat that had been abandoned near the house we were renting on the beach. We ended up calling him Gietore. Rhymes with keytore and with a hard g. The name didn't mean anything, it just fit him. The cat was remarkable. He had many different meows that he used on a consistent basis. Each meow had a different meaning. He was very intelligent and, oddly for a cat, very protective of my wife and I. He once threatened a raccoon when he felt it had come too close to my wife. He regularly chased dogs away. He treated my wife and I with equal affection. When he was sleeping on the couch and I sat down he would wake up enough to stretch a front paw out to touch my leg. Then he would leave it there and go back to napping. Living on the beach we would set crab pots during the season from a little Jon boat and reap the benefits of fresh Dungeness crab. We tried to feed some to Gietore but he wouldn't eat it. One night we had guests over for crab and he watched us all eating the crab with such pleasure that he just had to try it. After actually tasting it he was hooked. He went around the table and sat patiently for morsels from each of us. Didn't beg or cause a fuss, just made his wants known and waited. I got hit by a truck and came home from the hospital after a few weeks with pins sticking out of my arms. The pins were connected to all sorts of external hardware. Since my pelvis was also badly broken I was bedridden for three months. We borrowed a hospital bed for me to sleep in. A fancy electric one. I had all sorts of icky medicine smells emanating from my body. But Gietore spent every night sleeping on my feet, away from the hardware sticking out of my arms, until I was able to move from the hospital bed. Gietore years later developed type two diabetes. I learned that it was because the cat food we thought was OK was actually crap. Even though I have had cats my whole life I didn't learn that they were obligate carnivores until Gietore got sick. Anyway, I had to give him insulin shots every day. He never complained. I told him the shots were necessary to keep him alive and he seemed to understand. When first diagnosed he needed more insulin than most human diabetics. The Vet told us he would probably die in about nine months, a year at the most. After changing his diet to just meat and taking good care of this remarkable cat we were able to get him off of insulin completely. The Vet was surprised but blood tests showed that we were doing the right thing. He lived four times longer than the Vet predicted. Though he died about seven years go my wife and I still really miss him. Gietore was a truly remarkable cat who brought both my wife and I much joy. He would walk on the beach with us. He would hang out when we had beach fires. Everybody who visited us regularly would be greeted by Gietore and they were happy for and looked forward to the greeting. Even casual visitors noticed him. My wife and I were truly blessed to have this animal in our lives. I don't know how anybody could have abandoned such an animal but it was our good luck, and his too, that they did. I didn't have any particular reason for writing this, I was just thinking about a lost loved one who brought so much joy and affection to my life and my wife's life and knew that folks here can appreciate this. I have been so disappointed with politics since the last Presidential election and have kinda gotten hooked looking for news of the Trump Administration’s removal from office. And tonight I was thinking about Gietore so I decided to write this stream of consciousness diary. Gietore was certainly above petty (to him) human politics, and brought so much love, joy, friendship, and laughter to our household that I am still amazed that a cat could do this. Gietore was a truly remarkable animal and even though he was just a cat everyone who knew him well knew this and said so more than once. When visitors came by they always asked where Gietore was if he wasn't around, they all wanted to see him.
Eric
Wow, recommended 108 times. I’m touched. Truly