THE RETURN OF FELINE FRIDAY

CORKY AND SEBASTIAN (AND MOLLY)

Corky (grey-white), her brother Sebastian (tan-white), and sister Molly (tortoise), are the last cats who will share all their lives with me from kittenhood to their departure across the rainbow bridge. They are the last feral kittens we caught, back in 2013; they will be ten years old in April.

They are each very different. Corky has always been independent and standoffish; when we interact, it’s by her choice and on her terms. When we do, she likes getting rubs like any cat, but only so much. She’s the most feral and least domesticated of the trio.

Sebastian is The Big Galoot. He was one of the Three Musketeers with his brothers Ginger and Cary - none of them were littermates but they all had the same mother and I am pretty sure the same father, though we never ran across that reclusive and solitary parent. But they were all of similar size and outlook. Sebastian, being youngest, grew up in the shadows of his two older siblings, as any youngest does. But after Ginger was lost in 2018 when he ran outside just at the time the coyotes came through the neighborhood and ended the community cat population here, and Cary went in 2019 from a urinary infection, Sebastian began to flower on his own.

Weighing in at 14 pounds, Sebastian can pretty much do what he wants, when he wants. And one of his favorite “wants” is to sprawl across my chest at night when I am watching TV, or sprawl over my feet when I am asleep in bed at night. He’ll also come around and jump in my lap while I am working, just to say “Hi, I’m here!”

He has some pretty strong paws and pretty long claws, but he’s the only male cat I have who will let me trim his claws. He’ll do pretty much anything to get the compliment, “You’re a Very Good Boy!”

He’s big enough he can afford to be easy-going.

Another interesting thing is that he actually acts like a Big Brother to his littermates Corky and Molly. As shown in these photos, he and Corky sleep together in my “TV chair” most nights. He also comes into the bedroom and will plop down next to Molly, whose favorite night time spot is being curled up next to me.

When they were brand-new kittens in the house, they were the only ones who really kept relating as a group. Unlike the others, they seem to know they’re related.

You can support That’s Another Fine Mess with a paid subscription for only $7/month or $70/year, saving $14.

Comments are for paid subscribers.