We are borderline “crazy cat” people. The boys have a pet carriage. They go for rides around the neighborhood, to J-Town Deli and to the Post Office. It’s a bright red running carriage that looks like it could be made for a baby. When we walk the Jackson loop, most people assume that we do have a baby. They stop, look into the carriage and exclaim in surprise “Ohhhhh you have cats”. Then they proceed to act like we are perfectly normal.
Except for our neighbor Grace. She is 5. Her reaction was, “Wow, you guys are really weird”. We found her honesty to be hysterical!! Even funnier, was that mom Lisa was embarrassed by Grace’s comments – she too tried to act like we were “normal”. Our neighbor’s, Pam and Glenda, are cat people. They were the second to offer an honest opinion. Glenda was out on her deck when she first spotted us and the carriage. She yelled back into the house, “Pam, come here! You gotta come see this!! Linda and John are crazier than we are!!”
Rascal LOVES the carriage. When he hears the door to the garage open, he scrambles to leap into his carriage, then sits at attention, waiting expectantly. Many days he will sit at the garage door bellowing loud drawn out meoooows, hoping to communicate that he wishes to be taken for a walk.
Jackson’s feelings about the rides are 50/50. He enjoys short walks on the golf course. He doesn’t like J-Town Deli, being on the sidewalk near cars or being “looked at” by people. On one such walk, we had been out a bit too long. Rascal being bored, had started a game of wrestling inside the small enclosure. Our neighbors Barry and Mona were walking towards us. At about 200 yards from the house, they stopped to admire the boys. John unzipped the top just a few inches so that they could get a better look. In that split second, Jackson leapt out of the carriage and began running full speed up the hill. John, a regular runner, took off after him but he was no match for the speedy little guy. I watched in horror as Jackson took a detour into the woods, then popped back out to the road never slowing until he reached the front door of the house. He jumped up and down in an attempt to grasp the door handle, out of breath and scared. John finally caught up and let the little guy into the house; Jackson collapsed, exhausted but elated to return to his own environment.
One particular summer Saturday we decided to walk to the Jackson Farmer’s Market. Jackson opted to stay home. We set off with Rascal. He excitedly sat in the front taking in the sights and smells. While shopping at the Farmer’s Market for fresh corn , green beans and juicy local tomatoes we heard the usual, “Ohhhhh you have cats”.
From the market, it’s a short walk over to J-Town Deli where we stopped for a quick breakfast. We sat outside and struck up a conversation with the woman at the next table, Talia, who mentioned that she works for the Lupine Pet company in Conway. They make collars, harnesses and leads for both cats and dogs. Rascal and Jackson are owners of this brand of leash. Talia asked if Rascal would like to be a model!! (very exciting). We exchanged numbers and then set off because Rascal was giving us the “meow” that he was ready to get moving.
Our neighbor Sarah and dog Bailey were just across the street, John pushed the carriage across the street to join them on the short jaunt to our street. Sarah bent to look into the carriage and exclaimed “it’s empty”. I looked through the mesh, no Rascal!! I unzipped the carriage – empty!! I panicked. How did he get out? Where did he go? Why didn’t we notice his escape?
John ran to the street to stop the traffic thinking that Rascal was perhaps crouching under a car in the Deli parking lot. I looked around wildly. I didn’t see him!
I put my hands inside of the carriage again, to see if there was perhaps an escape hole someplace. At that moment, I realized that the carriage had a false bottom, I opened the flap. There he was! Rascal had somehow climbed between the two layers. I grabbed him and gave him a hug. Relief. OMG! He scared the ____ out of us!
Ironically, a few minutes earlier our new acquaintance Talia had observed, “Many people think of their pets as children”. Our response? “That would be us!”
My Devon Rex Kittens 