Pat’s Wildways: Animal Magnetism

It was only about a month ago when we had to put our beloved 15-year-old cat Dumela to sleep — a tragic time in our household. But wow, have things improved since then. We had a lot of travel scheduled, including two weeks in Belize just a week after that fateful day. A few days after Dumela was gone, I stopped by Cats Angels to pet the cats, trying to ease my cat-less pain. And there she was — a year-old tortie/calico cat catching my eye and trying to avoid the bunch of youngsters bothering her when she tried to sleep. You can guess what happened next.

Despite our upcoming trip three days later, Cats Angels staff convinced us that if we wanted to adopt this cat, the time was now — they wanted her placed ASAP. So Melina entered our lives. She moved right in, and in the few days we were with her, she found her litter box, joined me on our bed, and discovered the sunny spot to sleep, just like old Dumela. But then we had to leave. We got updates and cute photos of her from our friend Susan, who routinely visited her in our absence. “She’s a great cat,” was the word. I couldn’t wait to get home and bond with her.

But life intruded. Just a couple of days after we got back from Belize I had to leave again for my brother’s 80th birthday celebration in Philadelphia. Bucko was left with our new cat and over the next eight days she started to bond with him. Every day when I called him, my first question was “How is our cat?” The new name, Melina, still seemed foreign to my lips.

I was far from pet-less this trip, though. Maybe the other household pets where I stayed sensed my loneliness. But whatever the reason, I barely slept alone during my eight nights away from home. First came Walter, an aging Maine Coon cat mix that my niece Anne had recently adopted from a shelter. Walter was not yet comfortable with the other household cat and did not sleep on Anne’s bed yet. And the guest room where I slept had been Walter’s quarantine room for a few days when Anne adopted him. From my first night on, Walter was my bedmate. After having petite female cats all my life, he was an experience. He rubbed his head on my face and curled up on top of me, purring loudly. After working with exotic animals at Marine World Africa USA so many years ago, the mantra “Don’t let an animal near your face,” resounded in my head. But Walter was calm, all heavy weight of him. He and I were both happy with the arrangement.

And then came Peach, my friends Ed and Diane’s pit bull, a sweet dog for sure. My first night with them, Peach and I got acquainted and I played his favorite tug game with him. The second night, Peach visited me in my room on Smith Island, just long enough to jump on my bed and sniff my face, and relax there momentarily. OK.

But my third night with Ed and Diane, Peach moved in. I had just cracked my bedroom door open to see the bathroom light and settled into bed. And then my door burst open and Peach barreled in and jumped on my bed. Soon, Peach was asleep with his body pressed on mine. It’s been a long time since I slept with a dog, but it brought back pleasant memories of my childhood. And for the most part, I was tolerant of Peach’s snoring and dream-kicking and, yes, farting. But when I finally had enough and pushed him off my bed, in a flash he jumped back on it and settled down again. I gave up. In the morning, Ed and Diane wondered, “Where’s Peach?” And Peach and I crept guiltily downstairs to join them at breakfast. His absence was okay for one night but I’m sure they were happy when I left and they could reclaim their nighttime partner again.

All of this pet cuddling felt wonderful, sure, but I longed for my own pet. Would Melina remember me from our few days together? Would she be bonded by then with Bucko and ignore me? I needn’t have worried. As I write this Melina is rolling by my side and pushing her head against me in greeting, purring enthusiastically. I am home with my own loving pet.

And all is well in my world again.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. Patandbucko@yahoo.com.