Camden Cat, Lassie in a ‘purr’ coat
As a child, I loved Lassie. And don’t get me started on The Littlest Hobo or I’ll be in tears, brave little furry angel that he was. I used to watch our Springer Spaniel, Bramble intently when out on walks. Maybe he was pulling on his lead because he’d got the scent of an escaped convict or was digging to unearth some buried treasure!
Alas, like many childhood fantasies it never did amount to anything dramatic, but I consoled myself with the idea that it was all for the lack of opportunity. Had an escaped convict wandered through the neighbourhood the six-year-old me didn’t doubt that he’d be first on their trail.
So imagine my surprise when just last week, I was alerted, in no uncertain terms to impending danger by…..THE CAT!
Pulling onto our drive one evening, I was greeted by Camden meowing loudly at me. This was unusual in itself because she’s pretty much a house cat who takes a twice-daily trip into the garden to take the air and keep a lazy eye out for mice.
She rarely ventures over the back fence and she’s forbidden from the front of the house as it’s too close to the road. On the rare occasions I’ve caught her around the front, she’s run full pelt for the side gate and is through the cat flap and laying on the kitchen chair pretending to be asleep by the time I make it into the house. “Who me? Nope. Must have been some other cat. I’m not allowed out the front.”
So this brazen display of rule breaking was really out of the ordinary for her. I tried to coax her in the front door but she was insistent. Meowing at me and then running around the side of the house only to return and repeat the exercise as I stood bewildered on the doormat.
Now had I been watching Lassie of late, I should have said “What girl? You want me to follow you?” It would have saved her several trips I’m sure. When the penny did eventually drop, I followed her and found the side gate standing wide open. Cursing the new window cleaner who had been told specifically to lock the gate when he left, I shuddered at what might have happened if the dogs had ventured onto the road.
Satisfied that her completely stupid human had finally got her message, Camden stalked away up the path, shooting me a quick look over her shoulder as she did.
By the time I got in, she was of course curled up asleep on the kitchen chair.
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