Midnight Mutterings | Letter from America

||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES |||

Yesterday, I left Orcas Island to spend a few days on the mainland, In addition to some appointments, I wanted to visit Rose and Molly. Their first birthday was August 26, which means, as cats, they are fully grown women. And they are, by size at least. Molly, who was the smaller kitten when we took them home, is now weighs at least 12 pounds. Rose is approximately ten pounds. I have never had a cat over 10 pounds, and I admit I am a bit intimidated.

This is my first visit in a month and Rose seems to recognize me and is open to my attention. My son Jay, (Molly’s ‘mother,’) says when I phone, Molly is indifferent, but Rose is interested. Before I arrived, when Jay put the phone on speaker, Rose tried to look underneath it, as though she might find me there. Jay explained it’s Jackie’s voice, and she’ll be here soon and Rose put out a paw to touch the phone. Molly just said, ‘Who?’

Inside those large cat frames, are the kittens we chose almost a year ago. And these kittens are still as playful and wondering just as they were when we first met them. They are also instruments of destruction.The cats play together like they used to, but with their increased weight, they can do a lot more damage. At dawn and dusk they thunder through the small house shaking the furniture and rattling the dishes. They no longer climb the curtains, but no lampshade has survived their attention. All are in shreds, though only one lamp has been irrevocably broken.

As with small human children, some of the cats’ best toys are the ones they chose for themselves. Molly still likes to play in water, in her own water bowl and any glass or cup on the table is fair game to her. Molly just puts a delicate paw on the edge of any vessel and tips it over. What happens after that is not her concern. Then there are the wool balls for the dryer. Both cats think it’s great fun to pull out the strands of wool until the balls are three times the size of the original and three times as much fun, even if they no longer roll.

Rose’s best toy is a medium size terra cotta plant pot she keeps on the glass porch. She gets her head and front legs inside and rolls around inside the pot making a very satisfying noise, while she pretends the pot is attacking her. Her indoor project is taking a cardboard box apart bite by bite and scratch by scratch. It’s about three quarters it’s original size now. Molly occasionally tries to get in the box, but Rose does not allow her help, even though Molly is a very experienced paper chewer.

Rose is still in her dog/crow mode, carrying sticks, toothbrushes, and pens in her mouth, and adding small rocks and anything shiny she can carry in her mouth, to her cache of treasures under the bed. Molly is not allowed to share Rose’s treasures. Rose also does not share the reading glasses she steals from Jay. She carries them around in her mouth like everything else. Sometimes it looks like she is trying to wear them, which is extra touching as her eyes are just the tiniest bit crossed.

Both cats spend a lot of time on the glass porch and looking out of the house windows at what is going on in the yard. They are especially interested in the backyard neighbors, whom they know, as well as the dog, Albert. They have not seen Albert up close since they were babies, but they seem sure they could take him on. They are pretty cocky about the crows from the safely of the house, but I’d be betting on the crows in the event of a close encounter. The cats really want to be outside but Jay is adamant. ‘Too dangerous,’ he thinks, with cars and crows and off leash dogs. I’m more lenient, as I was with Jay when he was small. But he was cautious on his own, raised in New York and other cities, and the cats: not so much. They escaped a few times to roll on the concrete sidewalk and play with bugs. Today, though, I got my comeuppance when Rose escaped and went directly under my car and completely ignored my voice and my suggestions to ‘come out right now!’ I have to admit Jay is right: It’s a dangerous world out there for young, cocky, inexperienced kitties.

Covid is still alive in Molly’s mind and she is the keeper and destroyer of old masks. She is limited to the old ones as we are uncertain when we might need the new ones. Our neighbor across the street is newly infected with the most recent Covid variety, though she is fully vaccinated and had Covid a year ago. The good part is that she isn’t very sick, which makes the vaccines worth it in our minds. I’m always interested when people say the vaccines and lock downs were wrongheaded. Try telling that to the families of the over 1.1 million people who died of Covid in the US alone by April 2023. (I found it hard to find the exact statistics given the various categories of age, date, location, etc., not to mention the sick days lost and misery of so many sick people who ultimately survived but have the effects of long Covid, careers ended, lives interrupted, AND, the health care workers who were overwhelmed, sick and dead.) Oh dear, I have once again strayed from my subject of kittens growing up, so much of which I have missed.

Before I close, I want to say a bit about my most recent ferry experience. The 2:20 PM left almost on time and I had the pleasure of my neighbors, Mary and Russ, right behind my car once we boarded, even though I didn’t see them in line earlier. The ride was lovely in the sun, arriving at Anacortes on time and unloading efficiently. So my whining about the ferry is over for the duration after such good service. I have always been sympathetic to the ferry workers who have had the job of keeping the ferries running under such difficult circumstances. And I might just be on the brink of falling back in love with the San Juan ferries after all. Fair weather friend that I am.

So that’s it, from the mainland for today. Love, Jackie