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FRANKIE WEISS AND HER MAGIC by Dan M Weiss
Johnnie and Frankie Weiss on the love seat Chapter Two The Homecoming From the Marlton Animal Hospital the drive was about 24 miles home, besides talking to Frankie and Johnnie, my mind was addressing the reasons I wanted felines and not a dog.
A cat if left alone for a day or overnight, with food and water, has no problem taking care of itself and doing what comes naturally in their litter box. Dogs will eat more than is good for them, if food is left in their tray, it will disappear rapidly. A cat is smart enough to eat just enough to sustain them until hunger comes again. Any dog has to go outside twice daily, no matter the weather. They need the exercise and the opportunity to eliminate their waste matter. They need our human companionship so much more than a feline. Cats are inventive, spirited, and very curious and will explore things and are great climbers. They will amuse themselves in ways so foreign to a canine by creating play a dog would never understand. For these reasons and a few nameless others, I could never do justice to a dog adoption. Cats have no problem loving their keepers. Dogs love their owners. Notice, I wrote cats have keepers, not owners. This will be explained in more detail later in the story. Finally, reaching the driveway, I took the pet carrier out of the car and walked up the steps leading to my front door. Out loud, I welcomed Frankie Weiss and Johnnie Weiss to their new home, I was proud to give them my surname, along with a wish that we would share a fruitful and happy home. Entering through the front door and putting down the carrier on the living room carpet, I opened the grill; Johnnie immediately ran behind the sofa and hid. Frankie, extrovert that she is, was more interested in surveying her new home. Looking around the living room, she then went from the dining area to the kitchen, saw the food I prepared earlier, and continued her journey through the bathroom and little den. Coming out of the den she noticed the stairs leading to the recreation and laundry rooms. After exploring that area, she came back upstairs and went into the kitchen and partook of some of the Fancy Feast Chicken Hearts and Liver with gravy that I had prepared earlier, Frankie does not touch dry food. She then went downstairs and did her duty. (I like to think she knew her Mr. Mom was thoughtful and concerned regarding his adopted “children’s” welfare, in preparing food and the litter box for their homecoming, and that he knew what was important in a feline’s life.) The love between Frankie and myself was already a forgone conclusion. When she came back upstairs, she was not alone. She was carrying, between her teeth, by one of its ears a little grey plush bear 4 or 5 inches in length. It had been sitting, quietly and in dignity, on an orange cushion covering a Parson’s bench, minding its own business for quite a number of years. Evelyn and I had picked it up someplace in our travels. Frankie having a mind of her own, decided that had to change, again she fell in love, at first sight, with a bear. Walking into the living room, still holding the bear by an ear, this five month old feline sat down, the bear now between her front feet and paws, with a quick motion of her head she again had the bear between her teeth and with a mighty toss, flung it into the dining area, upon landing, she ran after it and repeated that action over and over, making her new daddy, (Mr. Mom) feel like he hit a million dollar jackpot. I could not stop marvelling at her play with the bear. Such was my delight in her ways and activity with this bear that became her most precious toy. But, Frankie had too much spirit for the bear’s future healthful outlook. Sometime later, after Johnnie came out of her hiding place behind the sofa, she went into the kitchen and had some of the dry food. I learned only Johnnie would lap at the water bowl, Frankie will not drink water; she gets the fluid her system needs from the food she eats, this is not uncommon among mammals. Frankie must have communicated to Johnnie that the litter box was downstairs, after using it; she ran up the stairs into the bedroom and hid under the bed. I could not get her to leave the secure hiding place. In fact, it may have been three or four days before Johnnie would allow me to even touch her. Cat personalities are so varied; here I quickly learned I adopted an extrovert and an introvert. I also learned cats are not immune to loving their keepers and Johnnie was no exception. It took her just a while longer than it took Frankie to learn that Mr. Mom was someone she could love and be happy for doing so. As a new father, I bought my “children” Frankie and Johnnie cat toys to play with. Both cats adopted certain playful objects. However, poor Johnnie was not allowed to touch anything that Frankie deemed her property or plaything. As soon as Johnnie would approach a toy belonging to Frankie, a cat signal would go out, warning Johnnie not to touch. Johnnie, being the timid one, would walk away from the toy. The bear was another story; Johnnie was too smart to even approach it. Somehow, she knew she’d incur Frankie’s wrath. As sweet and lovable as Frankie is, she’s a tyrant with a one-track cat’s mind. While putting this story together over a number of days, sitting at the computer, it’s impossible to count the many times I felt Frankie’s paw tapping my arm, her big beautiful eyes pleadingly looking at me; “I want your lap, come play with me.” Her meows often accompanied these actions. I must say, however, having a male’s ego and mind thought, it flattered me no end to think this pretty female Calico loved me and wanted her love returned by my attention to her needs at that particular moment of time. With my yelling NO, she’d go away sulking, but she’d return very quickly to try again. Although she insisted on bothering me very often while at the computer, I could not be happier, we shared a bond, a love, which I cherish. Please turn the page: |
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