Every afternoon, around 4 p.m., I go outside to the chairs out back, no matter how cold, and sit in our oversized blue Amish Adirondack Chair. In seconds, a small black figure appears out of nowhere and jumps into my lap.
It’s Zip; he hops up, puts his head near or under my chin, and then curls up in a ball on my shoulder, where he fits comfortably.
Zip curls up and begins to purr. And most afternoons, he goes to sleep. He is a restless creature and is never still for long, but lying on my shoulders or stomach, he feels soft and warm. Zip is good for me for reasons I don’t understand and may never understand, but I am feeling and appreciating.
I love it when he purrs and closes his eyes in bliss. I’ve figured out his sweet spots – under the neck and chest.
Zip is hyper-vigilant and notices every moment around the farm. Only when he sleeps on my shoulder is he really at ease. But the meetings are important to both of us, and we make sure to be there when we can.
(Photo by Maria)
This kind of cat love is new to me, and it still is surprising and sometimes strange. Our meeting was over after 10 to 20 minutes when I got freezing, and he saw or sniffed something he wanted to investigate. I won’t see him again until tomorrow, and some days he is off in the marsh and I don’t get to see him at all.
I miss him on those days, but I’m glad he doesn’t get obsessive. That would bother me. He looks for me but is happy to run off when something newer or better appears. This is a good thing.
But those days are unusual. He’s doing a great job as a Barn Cat. Only two pigeons are left in the barn, and they stay out of the way. I find bits of dead rats around the barn, and we’ve only seen one in the past couple of weeks and killed it in a trap.
He is getting it done in the best traditions of the Barn Cat. I’ve never had regular meetings with a cat or dog before. I do like it.
Your 10-20 minute cuddle with Zip is ass good as a dose of Valium for you.
This is why cat love can be so good – when they choose you, you know you’re chosen, and they don’t tend to smother, unlike dogs, who seem to need to be worshipped or acknowledged. There are exceptions, of course, in both the cat world and dog world to these behaviors. We’ve had 12 cats over the 23 years of our marriage and only 2 of them “chose” me over my husband. I am the practical one of the two of us, and preferred that cats not sleep on me, or walk over me in bed, etc. They all knew to stay off of me if uninvited and give me my space. My husband had no such boundaries and would wake up twisted like a pretzel with cats all over him. The 2 that chose me would simply come to me and politely “ask” for attention. I much preferred it that way. Perhaps I was a cat in a previous life.
Jon –
I love your new header, but where are the sheep?
Thanks Judith, the sheep are where they always are, out int he pasture. We don’t have room for everybody all of the time on the logo..they’ll be fine, I don’t think they care..
Gotta luv cats…nice picture!
Just Love your updates with ZIP, I lost my 20 yr old Tuxedo “BOY” Oct 30 this year. He was my Dad’s lap cat they had a special bond as you do with ZIP. ‘specially The favorite snuggle spot. 😻😻😻