Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Camping with a Cat
Velvet was my childhood pet. A black cat with an odd personality. She liked people, but did not like to be held. We had one elderly dachshund that she tolerated. (The dog liked her.) She preferred a perch on a tall bookcase where she could observe the world.
We(my paternal grandmother, mother and I) liked to camp and fish. For a number of years, we rented a cabin at a local fishing camp, then we acquired a few lots in a subdivision with lake access. A new tent was purchased, and we began camping on our own land. Velvet had always gone with us when we rented a cabin and stayed inside. Now, we decided that she could learn to camp.
There was no way to keep her in the tent, besides, it was way too hot in the daytime. This was central Texas afterall. I had a few qualms about her in the wild, but my grandmother and mother had no doubts. They were correct. Velvet loved camping. She explored the area around the tent and found a new perch in an oak tree to keep an eye on the world.
As darkness came, she became a creature of the night. One evening as dusk fell, she found something to play with. We were sitting outside the tent on stools enjoying the departure of the day's oppressive heat. Velvet batted something toward us. Whatever it was, did not cooperate. Velvet kept retreating, then herding it back to us. We lost interest, and even the dog stopped paying attention.
Velvet did not give up. Just as I got up to turn on the lantern, she pawed a gigantic tarantula from under Mother's stool. Mother was still sitting, but only for a heartbeat. She jumped up and back. The tarantula was barely visible, but I could see it well enough to know that this was one angry arachnid. It had its front legs raised and its fangs bared. Velvet circled the spider, the gave it a whack that sent it toward the tent. That was enough. I grabbed the shovel, scooped up the spider and tossed it across the creek. Velvet was quite disappointed.
Velvet lived to be an old cat. She always loved camping, but never brought another tarantula to us, a toad or two, but no spiders.
(I have added a donate button, if you would like to help support my continued efforts to care for feral cats.)
We(my paternal grandmother, mother and I) liked to camp and fish. For a number of years, we rented a cabin at a local fishing camp, then we acquired a few lots in a subdivision with lake access. A new tent was purchased, and we began camping on our own land. Velvet had always gone with us when we rented a cabin and stayed inside. Now, we decided that she could learn to camp.
There was no way to keep her in the tent, besides, it was way too hot in the daytime. This was central Texas afterall. I had a few qualms about her in the wild, but my grandmother and mother had no doubts. They were correct. Velvet loved camping. She explored the area around the tent and found a new perch in an oak tree to keep an eye on the world.
As darkness came, she became a creature of the night. One evening as dusk fell, she found something to play with. We were sitting outside the tent on stools enjoying the departure of the day's oppressive heat. Velvet batted something toward us. Whatever it was, did not cooperate. Velvet kept retreating, then herding it back to us. We lost interest, and even the dog stopped paying attention.
Velvet did not give up. Just as I got up to turn on the lantern, she pawed a gigantic tarantula from under Mother's stool. Mother was still sitting, but only for a heartbeat. She jumped up and back. The tarantula was barely visible, but I could see it well enough to know that this was one angry arachnid. It had its front legs raised and its fangs bared. Velvet circled the spider, the gave it a whack that sent it toward the tent. That was enough. I grabbed the shovel, scooped up the spider and tossed it across the creek. Velvet was quite disappointed.
Velvet lived to be an old cat. She always loved camping, but never brought another tarantula to us, a toad or two, but no spiders.
(I have added a donate button, if you would like to help support my continued efforts to care for feral cats.)
# posted by January Cat @ 11:28 AM 
