I don't know how many TW readers like cats (or any other animals), but you pet lovers out there will appreciate how unusual it is to have a cat that behaves more like a dog than a feline (those of you only interested in tennis can just skip this post).
I'm talking about our orange tabby, Biscuit. He was a feral cat, left behind in our barn when I closed down the dairy operation (we were Little View Farm, once upon a time) a few years ago. Over weeks, I gradually lured him up to the house and into the mud room, via food (always the best bribe) and a pet door mounted high enough to keep out other, less desireable critters (raccoons, skunks, opossums).
By the time I decided to give him a name, Biscuit was demonstrating an extraordinary degree of affection and loyalty. Imagine, this is a cat that has never spent a night in the house proper. He's alone, sometimes for weeks at a time, even in the dead of winter, when it gets down as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit.
We have an automatic dry-food feeder for Biscuit, but he prefers to hunt, kill, and eat mice, voles, and other prey, including at least one weasel and a few chipmunks.
The amazing thing, though, is that Biscuit loves our 3-year-old son, Luke—to the point where he actually seeks out his company. Maybe it's because they're a similar color; I can't say for sure. But I do know that Biscuit tolerates the worst our toddler can dish out, including full body slams and attempts to drag him around by the tail.
I admit, at heart I'm a dog guy, but Biscuit is much better with Luke than was our Rottweiller, Cady, who died a little over a year ago.
All this as a preface to saying that I'm back. I'm coming off two days on the farm, where I finished the final edits on my comic novel, The Trout Whisperers (it will be published next summer), and dealt with some vehicle and farm issues. I chopped up two hot dogs for Biscuit this morning at 3:30 A.M., made the three-hour drive to the city, took Luke to school—and attended our monthly TENNIS Magazine planning meeting.
I'm fragged, but ready and eager to get back to blogging.