Cletus – Photo: L. Weikel

Decipher This Look

This is Cletus. I challenge you to decipher this look.

You’ve met him before. He’s the cat who ‘ran away’ for a month, but actually, it turned out, was so directionally challenged that he simply couldn’t find his way home in spite of being only half a mile away from us. Indeed, after approximately 30 days of ‘living off the land’ on his own, not more than half a mile away, he talked himself into believing that he was a feral bad-ass.

Cletus also routinely insists upon going outside every night, because – well – he’s a tough guy. A bad-ass. A feral monster from Philly. Nobody needs to know that he growls and hisses at me when I wake him from his slumber to put him out every night. (There’s a reason I do this.) He insists; don’t let him tell you otherwise.

Nor do they need to know that he loves to snuggle and cuddle in the morning, kneading his way back to memories of his kittenhood, shortly after he was rescued by Andrea and adopted by us.

A Worthy Prop

It’s true; I’ll admit it. For all of his surly demeanor, I am the first one to exploit him for his beauty and sassy attitude. He’s a wonderful distraction. We should all be grateful to him for giving me something to write about besides the dismal state of our union.

All of which leads me to today’s photo. Is this cat happy? Is he satisfied and content with his life, appreciating he’s safe and warm, living in a home with unlimited food and water and a cozy spot of his own by an indoor fire? Or is he plotting to take out an eye?

Some days, I assure you, I only barely escape his wrath.

(T-664)