Cosmo
by James
(Portland, OR, USA)
Thirteen years ago, Cosmo was a last dayer at Multnomah County animal control in Portland Oregon. He was so small he fit in my cupped hands.
I was told he was found tottering down a city street and brought in. Very small with bad intestinal parasites and no interest in people I knew he had no other chance of a family the first time I saw him. I didn’t know or care what kind of cat he was. We took him and another kitty home with us.
Gina was very small for an almost adult cat and turned out to be older than she looked. She mothered Cosmo and seemed to teach him the things a young cat should know.
Stalk, pounce, bite and rend. Sleep I think he figured out for himself. Watching him encounter things for the first time become a nightly game just before bed. I learned to sleep through the sound of eight tiny feet running around the house in the dark. About ten months later Gina left us. Cosmo made no fuss that was the usual result of her being out of site. Mrs.B was heartbroken. We searched for weeks but never saw her again.
Cosmo is a creature of habit. He wakes us every morning at the crack of breakfast. This morning, the alarm failed but not Cosmo. He knows if I have taken a can of tuna to work with me for lunch.
The first thing that must occur on arrival home is the decanting of the water from the tuna can. He knows! He waits! He always wants to be with us but not often held. A lap session is a rare gift indeed.
Cosmo has many beds and if you know his time table he can be found in the right one. However, beware the sacred tummy and touch it not even if displayed for it is forbidden to all but the most trusted.
James
