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Mountain Shadows

By Guest Editorial Writer James Heth

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Cats

 Living within a mountain’s shadow it is necessary to have a cat but is there anyone anywhere on this planet that understands the mind of these creatures? These animals live on the very edge of a world that only they know about.

For example just the other day while sitting on our deck reading I noticed one of our Manx cats approaching with something in its mouth. Past experience caused the hairs on the back of my neck to rise up a bit.

Having spent some of my wayward teenage years in the back woods of Michigan and having encountered a number of lynx cats I had learned the hard way that these cats would have soon jumped up on your head ripping bits of your scalp off as to turn and run and knowing full well that our cat was not that far removed from his not too distant cousin the lynx I did not move.

The cat  trotted over and dropped something at my feet and turned and ran to the edge of the deck and sat and stared back at me with round yellow eyes and swished its tail slowly back and forth.

 I remember then back in the woods one time when my dog thought it might be great sport to run and catch one of these lynxes (a thought that it later surely regretted for he caught up with one before it reached a tree and I will never forget the sight of that lynx sitting on the top of my dog’s head casually ripping bits of flesh from its head.).. Finally old Boots had lain down and rolled over and over until the lynx scampered off and ran up a tree where it sat on a high branch and hissed down at us...

I then carefully leaned over and stared down at a bloody headless squirrel.

Now, why our cat believed that in some bizarre way I would be at all interested in its headless squirrel is beyond my imagination.  I knew that I was not in charge so I simply turned a page and continued reading.

Anyone understand the mind of a cat?

Anyone?

Anywhere?


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Sunday August 24, 2008

Sierra Sun Times