Cruiser the Cat Part 2

We continue the story of Cruiser the Cat. We introduced him to our home around four in the afternoon. Nice day, plenty of sunshine, and the house was warm and cozy. But that apparently did not impress Cruiser as he touched the floor and looked around with fright. And fright soon turned into flight. Cruiser promptly disappeared under a couch and there was no way he was going to be coaxed out. We tried tasty cat bits, water, bouncing balls, crumpled paper, yarn, and even play toys like cloth mice. Nothing worked.

We finally tipped the couch and Sue picked Cruiser up and cradled him gently in her arms. Sue sat on the couch and cuddled Cruiser with a blanket and the cat dove deep under the blanket where we could see only some whiskers and two eyes peering out. Well, this may be somewhat normal for a cat that has been brought into a strange environment by two strange people. That's not to say that Sue and I are strange people. A little crazy maybe, but I guess we were strange and new to this cat.

Whenever we retrieved Cruiser from beneath a chair, couch, bed, or whatever, we tried to be loving parents and we petted and brushed Cruiser quite gently. He did manage to do a little exploring and found that he could hide most anywhere, preferring beds and couches, but also hiding behind the verticals. Of course, this was a little disconcerting to us so we reviewed the contract for the cat and it gave us five days to determine if we wanted to keep or exchange the cat.
On the plus side, Cruiser made no noise, did not scratch anything, and did seem to like the petting and brushing. On the minus side, it was getting tough to see the cat while bending over and looking under beds and couches. At this point Sue was referring to the cat as "she" while I used "it".

The second night we brought "it" into our bedroom with a cat litter box, food and water, then closed the door. We retired to bed and waited. Within an hour the cat emerged from his underground hideout and actually came up on the bed and began to explore the bed, the night stands, the dressers, the drapes, and all things he could either crawl under or prowl over. And then a miracle occurred, he settled down at the bottom of the bed and rested there for most of the night.
The next morning the cat joined us for breakfast until he heard a doorbell, noticed that the door to the bedroom was open, and quickly bolted to the bedroom and disappeared into the depths of the underside of the bed. And he remained there for hours.

Nothing coaxed him out. We reviewed the contract again to be sure the option to return him was still in effect. It was early evening when I was on my way into the bedroom to fetch something and I saw this apparition peering at me from our bedroom doorway. It was Cruiser, sitting at the door, awaiting our return to the bedroom for a good night's sleep. And he joined us once again at the foot of the bed for the night. A miracle had been repeated. Sue and I no longer call the cat "she" or "it". The cat is now called "Cruiser". He has earned the right to be referred to by his proper name. And we no longer review the return option in the contract. For better or for worse, Cruiser is ours to keep.

And this is just the beginning of the story.

We thank Arthur "Rusty" Peacock of Weeki Wachee Florida for his enjoyable contributions to our newsletter.

September 21, 2008

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