The Guard Cat

T.C. was a long haired black tabby cat.  She had tinted red within her black hair.  She was one of three born to Squeak.  The other two were male (Tiger and Peanut Butter).  T.C. was spayed.  The two males were not neutered.  All three cats were both indoor and outdoor cats.  But the two males would wonder off when outside.  T.C. stayed in the front yard.  She literally lived on the front porch.  She apparently never went anywhere else, or at least she was never seen out of our yard.  She liked the outside better.  T.C. seemed to like people too.  But yet, she never allowed any stranger to pick her up.  She allowed only her owners (the children) to do that, but yet not often.  She wasn’t a cuddly cat.

The first time I saw T.C. display a special type of behavior, I found myself laughing.  T.C. was no male cat, but yet she had marked her territory.  Although we had a leash law, very seldom did neighbors obey it.  Dogs ran up and down the street with no collar.  The ownership of the animal was seldom known unless the dog lingered in a particular yard for some time.

Here comes a dog and off the porch T.C. jumps.  She walks down the front part of our yard as the dog approaches.  Amusing as it is, she does it where my property ends.  That dog does not enter the yard at all.  How she got away with it, I don’t really know after all she is a cat.   But she guarded the front yard and allowed that dog not to enter.  She never had any intention of running from that dog.  He continued his journey up the street.  She had managed to intimidate him.

It was appropriate as when T.C.’s life ended, it ended on our front porch.  There she lay near the front door one morning.  She had made it seventeen years.  She was guarding my property until the end.  In the backyard, she was laid to rest in what we called our Pet Cemetery.

Cats are known to be this way and that way in similarities.  But yet, they are so different.  Children can be raised in the same house and have a different personality.  Are cats really any different as they too develop their own personality?  T.C. had two brothers from the same litter.  She was the only one that became a guard cat.  I have not had another cat to show such behavior.

Cats come and cats go.  It is the cycle of life.  And who is to say, they don’t have their purpose on earth too?  When a stray dog crosses my yard, I still have T.C. crossing my mind.

“If T.C. were still alive, you’d be finding another route.” I shout.  “My guard cat would be sending you on your way.”

            And then; a smile crosses my face.  

TC chasing a neighbor's dog.