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Some cats have nine lives, more or less! Some are more secretive than others and seldom revel their innermost mysteries so we are unlikely to discover their private lives. Such is the case of Mac Cavity, a most extraordinary cat. Mac Cavity's lives, not necessarily in chronological order, but as he would have preferred them to be, can only be guessed at and listed by stages of development as they would appear to a human.
But first, before discussing Mac Cavity's lives, how will you recognize him when you chance to meet? There is no missing his distinctive spotless white markings against a sleek black coat. His white forehead is distinctly and symmetrically marked as are his paws although not quite so well done by his maker. In addition, he sports a pure white belly. Notice those ears, neatly trimmed by nature, not man. Ah! what a handsome cat, and he knows it. And now on to his lives:
He was a small insignificant fluff of fur brought home by Gregg as a treasure (although we had quite enough cats, numbering some thirty or so at different times during the year.) But as a gift from a favorite teacher how can you refuse? Well this kitten had no trouble bellying up to the bar (the food dish that is) and eating his fill.
What should we name him? Just our luck, Cats, the musical was making its rounds and was to appear in Memphis. And of all cats in the play, none caught Gregg's fancy as much as Mac Cavity. Of course T. S. Elliot's, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, had a misprint and the star's name was Macavity, not Mac Cavity, as he was of obvious Scottish decent.
Everyone knows that cats have to have their shots. There is rabies, distemper, feline leukemia and who knows what that are recommended but most important of all is the vaccination for rabies. When you have joined a large farm family as Mac Cavity had just done, shots are a yearly event.
But can you imagine making 37 trips to the vet (if you have only one pet carrier.) Fortunate for us all was that Dr. Billy Butler, understood these things and had a couple of large wire cages as "loaners." He suggested we put a "bunch" of cats in each cage and bring them to town. No problem, or so it sounded from his description of what was to take place.
It's easy to catch a cat and put him/her in the cage and not all that difficult to catch a second cat and add him/her to the cage. But there is a major row when one tries to enter a third cat. Every time you open the door, at least one of the two inside will escape, so you never have more than two cats in the cage at any one time. Oh well, four cats into 38 goes, about 10 times which is the number of trips to town for the shots. We were never quite sure if maybe a couple of cats went to town two or more times, while some of the sneaky petes stayed home. Of course, Mac Cavity because he was easily recognized and quite agreeable to being housed with almost anyone else made the trip only once.
Having passed this milestone in his life, Mac Cavity lived the life of any normal tom cat, eating, sleeping; eating, sleeping and eating, sleeping.
"O thou most happy mortal upon earth." Said he, "how sweet is thy repose; envied by none, and envying no man's greatness, secure thou sleepest, thy soul composed and calm; no power of magic persecutes thee, nor are thy thoughts affrighted by enchantments! Sleep on, sleep on, a hundred times sleep on. Those jealous cares that break a lover's heart do not extend to thee: neither the dread of craving creditors, nor the dismal foresight of inevitable want, or care of finding bread for a helpless family, keep thee waking. Ambition does not make thee uneasy, the pomp and vanity of this world do not perplex thy mind: for all thy care's extend reaches but to thy ass. Thy person and thy welfare tho hast committed to my charge, a burden imposed on masters by nature and custom, to weigh and conterpoise the offices of servants. Which is the greatest slave? The servant's business is performed by a few manual duties, which only reconcile him more to rest, and make him sleep more sound; while the anxious master has not leisure to close his eyes, but must labor day and night to make provision for the subsistence of his servant; not only in time of abundance but even when the heavens deny those kindly showers that must supply this want."
Spoken by Don Quixote when considering the slumbers of his squire, Sancho. Chapter LIX, An account of Rich Camacho's Wedding. Note: All living beings are mortals.
In his father's image, as described by Gregg's teacher, Mac Cavity should have been a tyrant, despoiler of virgins, barroom fighter and ne'er-do-well that spent his every night out. Mac Cavity tried to do justice to his genetics, but alas, his heart just wasn't in it. It was so much better to spend the night, and the day as well, closed up in the house or with Charlie, the dog-cat, (Charlie quite properly thought he was a cat, since the whole household seemed to revolve about cats. They got the best food, the freshest water, the warmest bed, etc., why shouldn't he be a cat. It is for this reason, I suppose, that when we called Charlie by his full name, Charlie-dog, it was to remind him of his ancestry).
As an aside, Charlie came to live with Don, Wendy and Gregg as well as the rest of us, quite by accident. As we all remember quite well, we were on the way to a fish fry at Henry Cannon's, down by the Hatchie river (Hatchie is river in Indian, so it's the river - river(?).) As we passed a roadside ditch, a small puppy emerged from the grass. We stopped the car and to everyone's astonishment, there was not one but four gleaming black puppies, the cutest you have ever seen. As there was a farm house only a short distance away, we thought, perhaps the mother had led the pups into the field and they had gotten lost. We gathered the pups together and took them to the neighbor. No --- the pups were not theirs. but --- yes they wanted them, every one of them. It seems they had just lost their dog of many years and it was a God-Send that these puppies were being delivered to their very door. Well so much good luck for the puppies and their new owners; we continued to the fish fry. The food was great, the socializing fun and the evening turned into late at night. Time to end a great day, so homeward we went. As we passed the farm house where we had left the puppies, everyone thought how much we would have liked to have had just one. The car slowed as we neared the spot where the pups had been and there in the headlights was --- a pair of bright eyes. A poor lost puppy, now separated from his litter mates. That's Charlie! and what a dog he was to become.
You see, Charlie had a special house. A two-story A frame with the lower living quarters just for Charlie, and the upper quarters with its own private entrance reserved for The Cats. There was a back-stairs entrance to the cats quarters through Charlie's, but to our knowledge, no one ever used it. Of course, Mac Cavity knew immediately that this was his own private suite. He seldom shared his quarters with other cats.
The only time that there was dispute was when the two yellow toms became involved in a major fight. When one was getting the better of it, the loser turned tail and ran (we never could tell them apart and who knows, perhaps on another day the odds shifted and Tom number two was pursued by Tom number one, or whatever). No tree in sight, the escaping tom leaped for the upstairs entrance to Mac Cavity's house, and in midair turned to face his opponent while gracefully landing in the portal. Fortunate for all concerned, Mac Cavity was not at home at the time to great this anguished visitor.
So Mac Cavity spent his second life as friend and companion to Charlie, much to the chagrin of his father, I suppose. Mac Cavity didn't follow in his father's foot steps, however, he did one spring day decide to express himself and attempted to climb his mistress's leg. This assertion cost Mac Cavity dearly as only the veterinarian can tell you.
Mac Cavity became mac cavity, if you get my meaning.
Mac Cavity slept on his owner's chest, paws and legs outstretched all embracing. It was after we moved to Baltimore and Mac Cavity discovered the big city, that he decided that safest and warmest place of all was in the big king-sized bed. It was just a matter of time before he found that the slow rythmatic movement of his owner's chest was so much like being rocked in a cradle. Where else to sleep --- there was no place quite so comfortable. Perhaps the snoring was annoying but what the heck, you have to make some sacrifices.
By now with the many moves, first from the farm, then from Memphis, then from Columbia and Elicott City in Maryland, had reduced the cat population to four. Only Henryetta and one of her kittens, October and Mac Cavity remained with their owners. Charlie was also gone. So it seems quite likely that Mac Cavity felt that it was his duty to be faithful companion to the family in their time with so few cats.
When there are 37 cats and a dog, what's one more for dinner? Wendy (Gregg's sister, our daughter of course) had the duty of feeding the animals most nights. She cannot resist the temptation to stop and smell the roses or to pet the cats. One night, as she was petting each and every one (Charlie included) as they worked their way through the dinner feast, she noticed that one of the cats had an unusually coarse coat, almost bristle like. And the critter hissed at her when she stroked its back. Behold, mr possum had come for dinner. This was obviously not the first time or the last he had been invited as he continued to eat, nosing the cats away from the choicest tidbits. Of course, they gave no ground and continued to eat side by side.
Now when Mac Cavity moved to Maryland, he was short of cat friends and since he was a social animal, decided to adopt humans for companions. In particular, the Sheltons of Elicott city had a small daughter and a small dog. Mac Cavity saw no reason why they should not take walks together, so he soon joined the parade. It was quite a sight to see the father, little girl, little dog and Mac Cavity in a line as they walked around the backyard looking for and finding only what a small child, a dog and cat could find.
So you can see Mac Cavity had many friends, companions and social equals. Not bad for a poor black and white cat from the wrong side of the tracks.
As mentioned previously, Mac Cavity was widely traveled. He probably does not think that this properly qualifies as a separate life but when one's memory grows dim, it is good to reflect on the many events. Of course he would consider these travels as that of a tourist, not as one taking residence, because home was always the Farm. Now somewhere along the line, October (called Toby by Wendy), joined the family. October had a most unpleasant disposition, probably because she had never had a proper home until she became "Wendy's cat". At any rate, October was accepted and permitted all the usual privileges. That is, until it came time to move from Tennessee to Maryland. The problem was there were only two cat carriers and four cats, so somebody was going to have to share space. As we have reported, Mac Cavity and Henryetta were good friends and sociable animals as was Magellan, but October was another case. Good ole Magellan, he could accommodate anyone or anything so he got the pleasure of traveling with October. Well they all made it even in 100 degree heat in the shipping area of the airplane. This was Mac Cavity's one and only airplane trip and that was just fine with him.
When it came time to move to South Dakota, Mac Cavity and October were the only ones making the trip. It is sad to report that a cats' life is not an easy one in the city and each year we have the pleasure of their company we should take pause to appreciate. While in Maryland, Henryetta and Magellan both left us. Enough of the sadness, it's on to the Great Midwest! But how to get there?
It's a very long trip for humans and especially for animals when traveling by car. In anticipation of the needs of nature, both Mac Cavity and October were fitted with fine harnesses and accompanying leashes so that they could take brief walks and attend to their business. Came the fateful day the car was loaded, cat carriers placed in a prominent position within the car, cats included and we were off. On the way we stopped several times to let Mac Cavity and October stretch their legs which they did. But like a perfect gentleman and lady, neither showed the slightest interest in making their nature calls public. When we arrived at Don and Sarah's for overnight (in Chicago), both were quite interested in exploring the new environment. As Don and Sarah had two cats of their own, it was expected that quite an argument of rights might emerge. Wrong, Mac Cavity and October were quite happy after using the guest "sand-box" to return to their carriers to continue the journey.
So it was on to South Dakota and Gregg's home which he shared with three cats, Po (the mother of the kittens to be describe shortly), Yellow cat(without doubt, Yellow cat was the most relaxed, trusting, faithful cat ever known to mankind. He believed that gravity did not exist. One day, in the living room of Gregg's house, Yellow cat was sleeping peacefully on a pile of concrete blocks that were stacked in the living room (as only a budding artist can explain), Yellow cat in his slumbers, simply fell off the blocks onto the floor. Did this disturb him? Not at all, just picked himself up, stretched as a cat will and went to check the food dish.) and Black and White (or Gasket as she is sometimes called, who in trying to jump between branches of a tree in pursuit of a squirrel, discovered gravity.) Gregg also had a puppy,(Yellow cat was MoJo's best friend. Where ever Yellow cat went, MoJo was sure to follow. One day, Yellow cat decided it was time to go outside for a bit of cat business. Fortunately, there was a passage way in the screen door just cat-sized so that he and the others could go as they pleased. Out went Yellow cat. MoJo seeing his friend depart saw no reason not to go as well. There is a difference between a "door" designed for passage of a ten pound cat and one for a hundred pound dog. Nevertheless, MoJo somehow did exit through that door(?) with no damage to either the door or MoJo.) someday MoJo will be a dog but now he is only three years old and weighs about 115 pounds so is still regarded as a growing boy. Of course Mac Cavity and October once in Vermillion immediately made themselves quite at home. Vermillion South Dakota was as fine a home as any cat could imagine. Warm house, gentle breezes, ample food and best of all, at least from October's point of view, the house was just across from the Post Office.
Within a week, October had established her territory to include the sloping walkway usually reserved for those who needed assistance in entering this Federal Building. Here in the sun, a cat could stretch and toast one side and then the other as she awaited the chance passing of small children. More than once she was left to attend to a child while the parent went inside for business.
As the house was across the street, there was always a risk that a car or most likely a farm truck would not see a small cat. So, it was only appropriate that a yellow "cat-crossing" sign should be erected. In short order, all of the community recognized that this was the crossing for the very important "Post Office Cat." One day, a fierce South Dakota wind took the sign away from its mounting and it was gone. Not to worry, the "Insurance Lady" came by the next day with a catalog that had cat crossing signs in it so that October's sign could be replaced. Nice place, Vermillion!
Mac Cavity would be quick to point out the many joyful experiences of farm life. Quick as a wink or a slow cat's yawn, he would tell you of the day Henryetta took him hunting and the only thing to be found was the two old nags (actually fine jumpers belonging to the Prehlers). To exhibit the masterful role of cats in the animal kingdom, Henryetta first approached Dudley and leisurely raised herself to her full height as she scratched Dudley's front leg, much as any self respecting cat would scratch a tree or a piece of fine furniture. Kneading the skin of this mighty horse and sharpening her claws, oh the wonders of it all. Mac Cavity thought that it was mighty curious that Dudley never flinched or moved, but it was because of Henryetta's masterful control. And then Henryetta moved to Viking. Viking was by far the best jumper having cleared a six foot corral with lots of space to spare. Henryetta quite simply climbed up Viking's leg and sat on his back. He didn't seem to mind, or was it that he knew when he was under the master's (or in this case, the mistress's) control.
And then there was the matter of Henryetta's kittens. As we told you earlier there was 37 or more cats and kittens on the farm at most any counting. Henryetta was the mother in residence. She always chose the best places for her birthing. Under a wood pile where there would be great smells, a handy snack of mice or what ever and of course protection from the elements and any stray dog that might be so foolish as to come into her territory. But, she discovered the best place of all quite by accident. The Rube Goldberg contraption is called a combine. Now this weird motorized combination of things that go clank, bang, bump, slam, shake, rattle, screech and thump was designed to harvest soybeans, corn, wheat and the like. Each year when harvest was finished, a thick bed of straw remained deep in the interior, an accumulation which would not be cleaned out until the following season. Imagine Henryetta's delight when she discovered the soft bed, warmed by the summer sun, safe and high and dry. Of course this was just the place for her soon to arrive kittens. And there they were, deep in the bowels of this mighty machine. As you might guess, timing is everything, and these kittens were born on the 15th of September. Well the first beans of the year need to come out of the field about mid-month, not only to get the best price, but also since the fall season is unpredictable and as Eugene Haines said; "it was time to save the crop". What to do? There was Henryetta and the kittens, safe and secure. The beans were ready to harvest. And, time was getting short. No Problem. Why you just wait for Henryetta and the kittens to emerge, which they did in good time -- about the first of October. Now this is important, usually the mother cat will keep the kittens well hidden for at least three weeks (remember they spend the first week to 10 days with their eyes closed and need another 15 days or so go to get their legs under them). But Henryetta must have sensed the problem so she emerged with her kittens at least a week early, just so the harvest could begin.
And then there is the matter of practical jokes. When you live in the country, you have to make your own fun. Donald and his friend the Haines boy, I forget his name, Franklin I believe, decided that to best enjoy the great outdoors, they should camp out. Their idea of toughing it was to set up tent about a quarter mile from home, that way if the weather turned sour, they ran out of marshmallows or if nature called, the house was only a short run away. Now the matter of making a safe campfire is important in farm country. An out of control fire is a frightening thing that simply destroys everything in its path. (Usually when the fire department is called this means that total destruction is inevitable. One of our neighbors had such a bad reputation with fires getting out of control, David Evens said; "he could burn up a cast iron stove".) With this in mind, and I am sure with Mac Cavity's help, a safe place for a fire was selected and while the boys gathered wood for the fire, Don's father carefully concealed a number of firecrackers well in the depths of the growing pile of wood. After the fire was started, Mac Cavity and accomplice left the scene. Imagine the effect when about 30 minutes into the marshmellows and hot dogs the fire finally burned down to the level of the firecrackers and they began to explode. Mac Cavity surely commented; "they ran like a bunch of scared cats".
Now as you might guess, Henryetta was Mac Cavity's best friend and confidant. As she continued on her mission to populate the world, she often met with those who just didn't get it. Having taken up residence in Germantown with Magellan, Charlie and Mac Cavity, she decided that this was really the good life. But like so many city residents, her girth began to grow. Wendy measured her and reported with some alarm that she was 32 inches around and growing. Could she have a tumor or perhaps some over-eating disease. Of course a trip to the veterinarian was scheduled. The doctor who had little experience with cats of Henryetta's type was quite concerned and pronounced that she might have an acytes tumor. Now this is quite serious as the cancer cells continue to grow and the body cavity simply fills up with liquid and the growth. He made a number of probes with a needle, in an attempt to withdraw fluid for an analysis, but he was unsuccessful and admitted he didn't know what was Henryetta's problem. He suggested she could be put to sleep or we could take her home and make her comfortable. Henryetta was Mac Cavity's closest companion so the thought of leaving her at the vets was unthinkable. So home she went. Henryetta seemed to be getting along quite well although here waist continued to expand. We consigned ourselves to await the inevitable. Cats have a way of wanting to be alone when they have a problem, are injured, sick or know that death is approaching, so we were not surprised when one morning Henryetta was no were to be found. Two days passed and no Henryetta. And then, it was Friday I believe, Henryetta appeared at the back door. A much shrunken Henryetta, almost with here girlish figure, and she showed signs of having nursed kittens. Gregg followed her back to the most private part of the garage and there were eleven of the most beautiful kittens every seen. One of which was Magellan. So much for the wisdom of Veterinarians!
Mac Cavity was proficient in climbing down the side of tall buildings, taking the nose down approach. With each step, he discovered that the only way to maintain control was to take the next step faster. This worked fine until he was going down the side of the building as fast as he could run --- an then, he would jump. Unfortunately, the ground arrived just when it would appear that he was in full control. While he practiced and practiced this maneuver, he never mastered it although he did try it from the garage in Germantown (Tennessee), the second floor porch in Elicott City (Maryland) and the roof over Michael's porch (Michael is a good friend who has an old three story town house in downtown Baltimore.) Martha (the Mistress mentioned earlier) claimed that this form of entertainment must have had an effect on his brain (Mac Cavity's, not Michael's) -- the sudden stops and all.
An overnight camping expedition for Mac Cavity resulted in more than he had bargained for. Now Mac Cavity looks sort of strange, or is it distinctive. It seems that his ears are not quite what you would expect a cat's ears to look like. In fact they lack the characteristic tips, as though they were surgically altered, much like some dogs ears. Not so, Mac Cavity's ears were modified by God. One cold night in a particularly bad storm, Mac Cavity chose to stay outside denying himself the warmth of the hearth. Why, we just don't know, but in the morning he was there for breakfast with all the other cats. It was several weeks later when we discovered what he most surely already knew, that his ears had been somewhat changed in a most uncharacteristic way. This gave him a certain distinction, you know. He never complained (at least to our knowledge.)
About the time Mac Cavity lost the tips of his ears we thought, it strange that he never seemed to mew, purr, or make comments of any type. I guess we believed that there was something wrong with his vocal cords and he was speechless. It was only after we had moved to Maryland, that Mac Cavity found his voice. Probably when he finally had some thing to complain about. With his new found voice he became quite the vocalist. Often pointing out the need for fresh water in the bowl, more food or perhaps just to make sure that no one took him for granted. And purr, some might mistake his purrs for snoring, they were so loud. What a nice reward he bestowed on us or was it a complement for a job well done?
Mac Cavity discovered the science of ergonomics long before it became popular with the computer trade. One of the particularly difficult times for Mac Cavity was his arrival in Maryland. And, I think this is one reason he had little love for the state and its people. Mac Cavity had to go to the veterinarian for surgery and because cats are very clean animals they simply will not let a cut or wound alone. Accordingly, a Victorian like collar is fitted so that they are unable to lick their affected parts. Now it is not only undignified for a cat to wear a piece of jewelry, whether a leash a collar or what ever but it is particularly trouble some when the collar interferes with the cat's business. Now, Mac Cavity lived in quite a nice house with a second story balcony the edge of which had a wrought iron railing through which a cat could easily pass when it was desired to jump to the ground below. But wait, the new collar was at least twelve inches wide, a sort of round cone shaped plastic thing and certainly not going to pass through a four inch space between the railing standards. What was Mac Cavity to do? It took only a few minutes to see that a head on approach would simply not work. So with typical cunning, Mac Cavity turned his head to one side, passed the edge of the collar through the opening, rotated his head until the other edge was safely passed and then Mac Cavity could easily go through the opening. There was one problem tho, there was no going back. But no problem, the purpose of this exercise was to get out not to get back in. So off to other adventures Mac Cavity went, plunging head down from the porch, collar and all. He repeated this maneuver many times each day when the mood moved him. It must be remembered that for him to perform this feat, it was necessary to answer his call at the front door, demanding to be let in so the game could continue.
I might add that perhaps Mac Cavity discovered a practical way of employing one of Physicist theorems, as you may recall, in his pursuit of Yellow cat in another life, he proved that it was possible for a mass (atom or the like) to be on both sides of a container without passing through the walls(?). So perhaps he shares with Einstein an understanding of the Universe that remains beyond us all.
Mac Cavity was last seen in South Dakota presumably looking for a place where the sun forever shines, a cool breeze blows and there is a full food dish on every porch. But whatever, and with apologies to T. S. Elliot, Mac Cavity's not here.
Cats have at least nine lives, or maybe more. We humans just don't pay enough attention, as Mac Cavity would like for us all to understand.
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