Oldest Guy In The Room

zzz

We had to do some shopping today, and for a number of reasons far too boring to relay here, we stopped in at a Petco store. First off, I gotta say that if you want to take proper care of your varmint - er, animal companion, you should really see this place. Anyway, while Mikki & Jagan were looking around at this and that, I found myself looking at this cat. Back at the cat, actually; he had been giving me the stare ever since I came into the place.

At first, I couldn’t quite figure out the deal about that cat. Why he was so focused on me, and why I should care. Long story there, but basically we are not a cat family - I like cats well enough, but as for getting one for a pet, no I will pass thank you.

But there I was, staring back at the sober gaze of a grey tomcat in the “Rescue” section, where Petco tries to find homes for strays and abandoned animals. He didn’t seem distraught or even particularly unhappy, except that something was definitely on his mind.

Then it hit me. This old tomcat was somewhere near middle age for a cat. Surely he’d seen his share of adventures and life experience. But he was surrounded by about eight or so kittens, all of whom were bouncing around, doing the mindlessly cute things kittens do. And it was driving him crazy. At once I understood.

The cat was silently pleading with me, with anybody, to get him separated from the kittens. I could almost hear him saying “Look, I don’t want to complain, and yes, they are as cute as the dickens, but there’s not a cogent thought among the lot of them, and they don’t have a clue about the world. I feel like I’m the only one here without a lobotomy.”

And then I remembered my 46th birthday is coming up on Tuesday, and lately I have shared much the same opinion of people I encounter as that cat does of his fellow felines. I may not be a ‘cat person’, but I respect my fellow fogies.