Several years ago Thomas passed away at age 21. He was a cat (Felis Silvestris Catus) that I inherited from my brother and sister-in-law, supposedly on a temporary basis, while they broke in their new puppy. He never went back and lived out his long life with his new family. He was already an old cat when he came to live with me. He wore a natural tuxedo, black with white paws, and had the sweetest personality and loved being around people. Mark Owen, who also lives in the apartment, is a cat person and Thomas was in love with Mark; he tolerated me. I spent much of the daytime hours at home while Mark worked. As soon as he returned home Thomas jilted me and hung out with Mark. I fed him, cleaned his litter box, and took him to the vet always knowing I was second fiddle. But I didn’t care because the time I had with Thomas was most enjoyable.
Fast forward to 2008 and I spent the night at the home of Sally Jessy Raphael and her husband Karl Soderlund. There I met Renoir, a 9 month old rescue cat, (like Thomas) who was all black (without the white paws). Young and rambunctious he was a younger version of Thomas; friendly, playful and cuddly. I had thought of getting another cat soon after his passing but decided against it because I thought there could never be another Thomas.
The phone call came from Karl asking if I could keep Renoir for the two weeks they would be in Florida and Argentina. With only an hour to say yes or no I called Mark. He said of course and later that same day Renoir entered my life. It didn’t take long to realize I had to cat proof the house. Renoir was a young, playful exuberant cat who wanted to explore every part of my apartment. He loved looking out the window which is hard when you are not at street level. He liked to dig in plants which were a problem since Mark is Mr. Green Thumb and has plants all over the apartment. We also have two leather couches and even though Renoir had his nails clipped he still could do damage accidentally. He wanted to explore everything and managed to get behind my breakfront with no way for me to get him out of there (it weighs 500 pounds). I guess youth does have its advantages as he slithered out the side without any assistance from me. Then there are the computers, printer, telephone, fax, cable and all those wires. He liked to sit on top of them. So far so good as I am still using them all.
I figured he would tire out at night and I left my bedroom door open the first couple of nights so he could come in and I hoped sleep. I forgot cats are nocturnal and like to wander around at night. But sitting on my pillow at 3AM was not what I had in mind. After the second night I closed my door. Right now he is sitting on the back of my computer chair watching me type this story.
I guess he has gotten used to his new living conditions as he sleeps a good part of the day and has not destroyed anything, even accidentally. As his two week visit comes to an end I realized how much Renoir has brightened my life and how difficult it will be to return him to his rightful owners. Making that task easier is the knowledge that when Sally and her husband spend a month at their apartment in Nice, France, Renoir the cat will once again visit me.