There were seventeen cats living in Larry's basement. They were a ragtag bunch, but he loved each and every one of them. Pepper was a tuxedo cat whose ears showed the battle scars acquired from a hard life on the run. Sheba was a very talkative one-eyed blue-point Siamese who kept constant company with Sooty, a green-eyed black cat who hobbled along very well on his three legs. And then there was Tuppence, the Scaredy Cat who was totally black except for two small circles resembling pennies around her eyes. The rest were pretty ordinary cats really, but the thing that they all had in common was that they needed a home, and Larry gave them that.
On Tuesday, she asked me the most peculiar question. Peculiar for Matilda, that is. She and I and some of our neighbors have a deal. When we run out of stuff when we are baking or cooking, we know we can borrow from each other. Usually Matilda would ask for a cup of flower, or sugar, or an egg or something. But on Tuesday, I found her standing on my doorstep at close to midnight with a look of panic on her face. “Could I borrow some cat food?" she asked. The question itself was not peculiar. I had shared cat food with other neighbors, but Matilda did not own a cat, and as far as I knew she didn't even like them. “It's for Larry's cats,” she quickly explained, noting the look of utter shock on my face. “I'm feeding his cats while he is away. It's almost midnight, I have run out of cat food, and those kitties are starving.
The problem was the way Herb defrosted the refrigerator. You see, Larry spoils those kitties, feeding them only the best natural fresh cat food from the refrigerated section in the pet store. He keeps it in one of those old fridges in the garage, and I had taken some to our house a couple of weeks ago so that I would not have to come and go from Larry's garage to feed the cats. I've used up all the food I brought over, so I went to Larry's garage a few minutes ago to get some food for the kitties, and was greeted by a puddle of water on the garage floor. What's more, when I opened the refrigerator door, the stench of rotting cat food wafted out! Herb must have been tinkering with that old motorbike in the garage not long after his Dad left, because his radio was plugged into the outlet for the fridge!”
I thought for a minute, knowing full well that those fur babies would turn up their noses at Purina One cat chow. “I have just what you need,” I said, handing her a six pack of albacore tuna packed in water. “Nothing but the best for Larry's cats!”
I hope you enjoyed this weekend freewrite initiated by @mariannewest. The task is to:
- Set the timer for 5 minutes for each prompt (The 2 highlighted sentences and one phrase are this weekend's prompts)
- Write whatever comes into your head about the day's theme
- Stop when the timer buzzes
- Use the hashtag #freewrite
- Make a post
- Post a link on @mariannewest's page on the third prompt. Today's link is here
Image © Diane Macdonald. All Rights Reserved.
This is a photograph of Tessie, our gray tabby who passed away in June. She loved to hang out around water, She loved to sit in the sink and even enjoyed sitting on the bench in the shower stall when I was showering.
My original color stock image can be found on Getty Images here. You may recognize the photograph, as it has been featured in several calendars and magazines, as well as on greeting cards.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! I appreciate it.
Are you looking for something unique as a gift this holiday SEASON? Please check out all the products I have available on Fineartamerica here and Redbubble here. You will find household goods, apparel, cell phone and tablet covers etc. as well as traditional prints! Thanks for looking. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! :-)
To check out my art prints and stock images online, please visit my website.
