Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Of Furkids Past- Part Two


Harrigan was named for a song in the musical, Yankee Doodle Dandy. As a kitten, he was a very active, cheeky fluffball. He grew and grew(and grew) into a 13 lb chunk of DLH brown/white tabby- my "kittyboy". He did have a littermate sister, Hillary, who was let out by a roommate too soon after a move. She was gone, never to be seen again, within moments.

Harrigan was one of those kitties that, had he grown an opposable thumb, should never play poker. Everything he thought was immediately evident on his naughty whiskered face. He was declawed(before I knew better) and he loved to entice Cardigan into a lively chase about the apartment. "Monster Cat" would go to the back of a chair and proceed to 'scratch' the dickens out of it. "Tell the kitty- NO!" was Cardigan's favorite command because it meant a kitty head needed honking. You go to the kitty, grab his head and squeeze(gently) a couple of times. Honka. Honka. Just like a bicycle horn. GAME ON. It was just what a frustrated herding dog longs for- running feet just begging to be nipped. And the perfect excuse for 'Lewis and Clark Cat' to blaze new trails across the furniture and walls.

Harrigan was my lovable, purring "lap-lump". He made many a cold evening of book reading, a very cozy time. He didn't like 'people food' and would actually give a very melodramatic gag-action if you let him sniff it. Oh, but how he loved to hunt and he was adept without claws. Snakes, geckos, and water roaches were all brought to me in feline adoration. Snakes went into the 'Catch and Release Program', the roaches were screamed at and then stomped on, and a couple of geckos, unfortunately, weren't found until they had become lizard jerky. Small, desiccated, twig-like things that, when finally noticed, always made me cry. Poor critters.

In his later years, Harrigan developed arthritis in his declawed broken-down paws and his kibble bowl was up high, being kept away from doglips. A thick multi-layered pile of rugs made a soft, impact absorbing landing site, but better still: The Kitty Cafe. I took a medium-sized plastic totebox, turned it upside-down, cut out a "U" shaped door in one end and placed the box back onto its lid. Voila! Inside it an old kitty can satiate, while just outside, dogs salivate.

His health declined rapidly in 2003 and medication could no longer provide him a quality life. I held Harrigan while Dr. Paul made him pain-free. A life well pounced, purred and scampered through: April 6, 1988 to December 3, 2003. Good "Kiddles".

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your fur tales. It's so fun to talk about pets, altho my husband and I still choke up sometimes talking about the ones that have passed on. We love them so much. We now have a 7-year old black lab named Smokey, whom we got around our 25h wedding anniversary after our dog Rocky's hips got so bad there wasn't much that could be done. He was in terrible pain and even though I knew it had to be done I was just devastated. Even now I want him back with us.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, am taking a quick break from chores and wanted to stop by and say hello. Am so glad to have run across a blog that likes to talk about their pets. Will be looking forward to your upcoming posts. Hope you are having a good weekend!

Shaun said...

Wonderful weekend, it rained. In my part of TX, we're down +20" for the year. I think the hot is over for a bit and maybe the dry. Sorry no more posts about my furkids yet, I'm trying to get ready for pottery sales in October and should be in the Studio. I got sidetracked this morning, though, and set-up,(rolling of eyes)yet another blog. This one gives a full dedicated nod to my sheep collecting. I'm hopeless when it comes to all things sheep. My daily pic will simply be a sheep collectible of some kind with little or no text. I did a quick est.and just gave up at 200. I think I'll have enough subjects for awhile. Hope you, too, have a great weekend. You're welcome to use my e-mail if you choose. Can't say I'll respond fast, with the clay time I'm putting in.

Anonymous said...

LUV collectibles of any kind. Can't wait to see your pics. So neat that you are a potter. How creative! I'm a witer for the local KC newspaper, but make jewelry and crochet for hobbies. Also collect old pottery, McCoy in particular, altho I have some Dryden, Haeger, Morton, and Fenton glass. Am getting ready for neighborhood association garage sale, tho, so will be weeding out some things for the sale. My mom and a couple of my 6(!) sisters all get together for this. Much fun!

Shaun said...

I have a few from Crooksville. Of course, they have sheep on them. Have a great garage sale. Sell more than you buy...