Mrs. Pepper's Cats-7

The tale continues

Chapter 7

Marmalade and Havana

(And other animals)

Cats, domestic or otherwise are still 'wild' animals. Havana and Marmalade being domesticated from a few weeks after birth, did not have to compete in their environment to survive as true untamed creatures do. Their food and water was provided; in fact their water and food bowls contained food 24 hours a day, to which they had continual access unless asleep or away from Mongoose Barn. Mrs Pepper was punctilious about providing for her feline companions. She made sure every day that enough food and water was available and that the food and water bowls were spotlessly clean.

The two cats had safe and comfortable sleeping arrangements, an in-door litter tray so they did not have to venture out at night or in inclement weather conditions, and each other for company and companionship. In addition the area around Mongoose Barn was relatively safe being some good distance from main roads and thoroughfares.

On top of this they had Mrs Pepper. And Mrs Pepper was, in feline terms, relatively easy prey. If they wanted a treat, as Mrs Pepper provided each evening, they went, together or singly and cavorted around her feet meowing plaintively; oh and cats can do plaintive! They would continue this 'harassment' until Mrs Pepper relented and went to the cupboard in the kitchen that contained all things cat and withdrew the pouches of wet, tasty morsels that they both loved.

If they felt like attention they both had their ways, and being females, they were so well versed in such manipulations. Havana would throw herself at Mrs Pepper's feet, usually in the vicinity of 'the tickle rug', where she would slowly roll from side to side, elongating herself by stretching her paws out as far as she could and call alluringly and constantly until Mrs Pepper gave up what she was planning, knelt and provided the stroking required. Marmalade was slightly less demanding, but she too wanted Mrs Pepper's attention and knew how to get it.

Although pampered would be too strong a term to use, Mrs Pepper did indulge her cats. Once a week each was given a good brushing to ensure their coats stayed in tip-top condition. Mrs Pepper used three different brushes, starting with a wire brush to remove hairs and a soft haired brush to finish off.

Mrs Pepper treated Havana and Marmalade like her children although she fully understood them to be pets and wild animals at heart. In fact this was often brought to the fore as they had many encounters with other animals.

Mrs Pepper often recounted to friends stories of the interactions her cats had with other pets and the local wildlife. Such as the two events at the end 'cow shed' where Nancy, a single woman lived with her two tom cats, George and Alan. In Nancy's garden were two small fish ponds of which she was very proud, having designed and created them herself. Havana loved to simply sit and watch the fish in one of the ponds. On one still summer evening she was rooted there memorised by the fish scooting about between the lily pads, the sun glinting from their multicoloured scales. Suddenly her peace was shattered when George appeared from the house and launched himself upon the intruder, spitting and hissing fiercely. Hearing the approaching attack at the last minute Havana instinctively and acrobatically swerved away and took off at pace into the pond where she ended up paddling frantically. George stopped at the side of the pond as Havana reached the other 'shore' and bedraggled dragged herself out and literally high tailed it back to Mongoose Barn, feeling rather sorry for herself as she hated getting wet.

On another occasion Marmalade was relaxing outside in the courtyard soaking up the evening sun. Mrs Pepper was going out to place some discarded cartons and tins in the blue recycling bin, situated along the wall by the entrance, when she spotted a fox on her neighbour's lawn playing with something. At that moment Marmalade spotted it too and sent the fox scurrying as she chased it with ferocity. Mrs Pepper watched her return to the courtyard after the short chase and investigate the object the fox had left behind. She decided to discover what was so interesting to the creatures and, to her surprise, found Marmalade pawing at a stone dead goldfish. She pondered the situation shooing Marmalade away. How had it got there? Nancy was the only resident of the small development with a pond,  so how had the fish arrived so far from her garden. She concluded that a Heron, of which there was a colony about half a mile away, had speared the poor fish but dropped it on it's return flight back to the small lake behind the Cow and Plough at the farm park.

Mrs Pepper found herself in a bit of a dilemma; should she tell Nancy? What if Nancy, in the absence of concrete evidence of Mrs Pepper's Heron theory, concluded one of Mrs Pepper's cats had taken her precious fish? She decided not to say anything, after all there was no bringing the goldfish back to life, so she solemnly wrapped the dead creature in newspaper and buried it on the patch of common ground at the end of the drive up to Mongoose Barn.

Rabbits were common place on the land around the small development in which Mongoose Barn was located. Mrs Pepper and several neighbours had had their gardens made rabbit proof in order to preserve their lawns. Baby rabbits were in abundance in the spring time and both Marmalade and Havana were partial to baby rabbit. They often brought home their trophies as gifts for Mrs Pepper or to consume them in peace. On many occasions Mrs. Pepper came home to the gruesome sight of a recently slaughtered bunny which she reluctantly had to clear up.

On the odd occasion live animals were found in the house. On one such discovery Mrs Pepper had been in her garden and on returning to the house she saw Havana dart down the corridor to the bedroom area. On going to investigate she found Marmalade and Havana both sniffing around and pawing frantically under her double bed. When she bent to look at their target she was shocked to see a terrified baby rabbit. She shooed both cats from the room and after some effort managed to flush the poor creature out and trap it in the en-suite. Fortunately it was unharmed so once she had got hold of it she took it and released it into the nearby field.

On another occasion Havana brought home a trophy Mrs. Pepper had never expected. One Saturday afternoon she heard the cat flap rattle and left her place on the settee as the sound was unusually loud. She saw Havana with a brown, low-slung furry creature with a tail. Thinking her beloved cat had caught her first rat she was rather horrified but knew she had to act. As she closed in she realised it was a weasel and not a rat; she also knew them to be vicious and to own razor sharp teeth. She chased Havana into the lounge and quickly shut her in. Luckily the bedroom corridor door was closed trapping the creature in the hallway. She then went and put on her gardening gloves, fetched a square vase from the high window sill in the kitchen, a book and the broom, and using the broom as a prod, cornered the frightened animal, driving it into the vase and immediately shutting off its escape route with the book. The weasel went ballistic and shot around inside the glass trap squeaking loudly. Mrs Pepper slipped on her Crocs, gingerly carried the filled vase to the nearby field, set it down, its mouth still covered with the book, then keeping her distance, tipped it over gently with the broom handle, letting the creature run free into the undergrowth.

She often recounted the tale of the vole on steroids. One dull Sunday morning, before breakfast,  Marmalade returned to Mongoose Barn with her live catch. A field vole, a delicacy both she and Havana were both partial to. On this instance Marmalade had decided to toy with her captive before killing and devouring it. She brought it in through the cat-flap and set it down on the foot mat, sitting back upright on her haunches in a satisfied posture  to observe its behaviour. It lay dazed for a few seconds but as Mrs. Pepper came out of the bedroom corridor she saw it right itself and Marmalade stretch out a teasing left paw and give it a gentle swipe. The vole lost balance but soon righted itself, and to Mrs. Pepper's surprise and delight it turned towards Marmalade, who by this time had squatted down with her nose an inch from the poor creature, stood on its hind legs and nipped the unsuspecting cat on the nose with its sharp rodent teeth. Marmalade recoiled from the unexpected pain long enough for the vole to scurry down the corridor towards Mrs. Pepper who skilfully scooped up the fleeing animal but lost control of it as it tried to avoid capture. Before she could close her fist, and she intended to be gentle,  it had squeezed through her fingers, run over the back of her hand and darted up the sleeve of her fluffy dressing gown. Instinctively she quickly shed the gown onto the floor and bundled it up with the vole still buried deep within the folds, took it to the front door and threw it onto the path.

By this time Marmalade had recovered but had lost sight of her erstwhile prey and was sniffing its trail back up the corridor to where it had disappeared into Mrs. Pepper's garment. Mrs Pepper closed the door, secured the cat flap and watched through the small window set in the front door. After a few moments she saw a slight movement and then a small brown flash of colour as the escapee left the comfort of its hiding place and took to the undergrowth. Mrs. Pepper gave it ten minutes to make itself scarce then retrieved her dressing gown from the ground, shut the door and ensured both Marmalade and Havana were kept inside for the next hour or so to allow the courageous rodent to make good its bid for survival.  

Reviews

[Leslie Philibert]

Love this, and not only a great subject, but perfectly written, with superb paragraphing that holds each change of perspective, written with clarity and sense..dear readers.. READ THIS !

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you so very much Leslie for such a wonderful review. I am pleased you enjoyed it. Mrs. Pepper will be chuffed to bits!

[Island Hippy]

Aloha John, this was a fun read Havana & Marmalade are quite an adventurous pair, I have to say Mrs. Pepper is fairly resourceful herself keeping up with her cats. I also think not telling Nancy was for the best really. I'll have to start from the beginning I think. An enjoyable read John. Izzy

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you so much Izzy for taking the time to read Mrs. Pepper and for such lovely feedback.

[Island Hippy]

You're welcome

[wordman]

john this is getting more and more interesting

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you so much Ron for taking the trouble to read it.