Cosimo Watch
Earlier this week, Cosimo disappeared for an unprecedented 48 hours. We saw him wandering out of the backyard Sunday morning, and didn't see him again until Tuesday morning when he decided to show up at the backdoor in time for breakfast, as if nothing had happened. Though we did not see him, Marin spotted him a block away Monday morning.
Cosimo was a cat of the streets
before he moved in with us, so
we know he can take care of himself, but that didn't stop us from
worrying.
We also know from reported sightings that his range his huge. I believe he was out patrolling the outlying areas of his territories, like some kind of feudal lord paying a visit to distant vassals, pacifying them and ensuring their continued fealty.
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Bachelor Weekend
I'm pleased to report that my butt did not grow into the couch while I watched DVDs over the weekend while Barbara is away, as was predicted by some. [Cough!]
Our first arguably spring-like day happened Saturday, so I took the opportunity to get out on the bicycle. After getting a few chores done around the house, I used it as incentive to actually go to work and get ahead of the curve on an imminent deadline.
Though I usually prefer heat and sweat, it was a nearly ideal day for cycling. Pleasantly cool, nice breezes (especially when I was headed north instead of south), and sunlight. On the way home, I bumped into Oliver Banta on the Rock Island Trail; he's apparently taken up road cycling fairly seriously. I'll have to watch for him now, because he told me he's seen me commuting. I was embarassed that I had not recognized him. I managed not to bump into the folks strolling on the path who insist on stopping to chat with people they know blocking both lanes of the trail.
Barbara's in South Carolina, visiting her mother who is undergoing treatment for cancer. I would have liked to gone along, but the situation at the office is such that it's hard for me to take the kind of time away that Barbara wanted to spend with her parents.
On Sunday, a cat I have never seen before appeared on our back porch soliciting hand-outs. At first I thought it was Lorenzo, but this fellow's stripes were more black and gray, less tan. In fact, he looked very much like Penelope (aka Dr. Girlfriend), whom we took to Milwaukee to be adopted by Kelly and James, right down to the distinctive shape of his head.
He was neither collared nor neutered.
I tried to make friends and get a picture of him, but he was too skittish—probably not domesticated. Lorenzo was none too happy that he was around either, and that didn't help things. I managed to stay between them so no fight broke out while the other guy made his way off of Lorenzo's primary territory, but there was growling and hissing all the way. Fortunately, Lorenzo elected to return to the back porch instead of giving chase when the other guy finally ran off.
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Feline Absence
I recently watched Madadayo, Akira Kurosawa's final film. It focuses on a retired professor, and several episodes that occurred during his life. In one of these, his cat, Nora, runs away and disappears. This is the longest segment of the movie, and the one during which the main character seems the most emotionally engaged.
Missing cats also figure prominently in Haruki Murakami's novels The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore.
It makes me wonder if a missing cat has symbolism in a Japanese frame of reference that it does not for an American.
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