Enchanting Cats

Like Pawblo Picatso

I can be realistic

But you can’t make me

Picasso’s most famous works – what he is best remembered for- are his daring forays into abstraction, though certainly his more realistic paintings are beloved as well. I admire very much artists who display the exacting technical skills that I find so tedious and difficult. I try to train myself but I know my only chance in this world is to instead come up with something strange enough to be memorable. One day, maybe.

My lovely model for this one is my cat, Shisa, who one year ago today was caught in a trap in our backyard after 2 months of us scheming her capture. She was feral, and very angry with us. I was warned by friends, family, and cat rescuers alike that it might not work out with her; that I should be prepared to let her go if I could not change her wild ways and release her (spayed) back on the streets. There was one woman, by the name of Patricia Martin, who told me I could do it; she’d done it so many times before. This was the woman who had rescued our other cats (Sephiroth and Ritsuka) as neonatal kittens. With her encouraging words at our backs, my husband and I buckled down and committed ourselves to slowly, ever so slowly, so, so slowly, trying to convince this cat that she should love us –  even though we had just stolen her babies, caught her in a trap, forced her to have surgery, and were now imprisoning her against her will.

One year later, Shisa really does love us. She is an indoor cat and has never tried to leave the house. She wants us to pet her and play with her. She is still nervous about being too vulnerable. Even after all this time she does not want me to pick her up or touch her tummy. I don’t force it; I know one day we’ll get there. She purrs and makes biscuits and chases toys around the house like any other sweet little house cat. She is not wild in the slightest. She understands that we are here to take care of her.

It was not an easy road to get Shisa to this point. I didn’t listen to the people that said it wouldn’t work out. I just went ahead and did it. So whoever reads this, I urge you to not discouraged when the odds are set against you. If something is important to you, unrealistic as your goal may be, don’t give up on it.