This is Sarah. Well, her real name is Saranac, after her place of origin--beautiful Saranac Lake, New York. One could say that Sarah's had a rough life. Being a shelter cat, her past is spotty, but it was revealed by the animal rescue organization that she once lived with a homeless woman in a tent along with another cat, with whom she did not get along. She was then sent to live at my friend's house, which was populated with four cats who HATED her and would gang up on her. This ultimately led my husband and I to adopt this beautiful dark tortoiseshell kitty. But her adventures through kitty skid row are not the saddest thing about Sarah.
She has no teeth.
That's right. NO teeth. Unless you count the little nubs in the front of her mandible, which I don't, because they are useless. We sometimes stick our fingers in there when we feel like being jerks. She wasn't born without teeth--well, maybe she was, I don't know how cat anatomy works--but she was toothed when she came into our consciousness. Her teeth had to be removed because they were all rotted, which threatened her health, and saddened olfactory devices of all nearby organisms. So she's kinda like a four-legged wooly bear.
But the real disability only really shows itsef when she's forced to fight Franklin.
Remember how I described him as having the personality of a swarthy bus driver? Well, Sarah is your adorable, crocheting Grandma. An extremely loving, pleasant, SWEET cat. Bumps everything with her head. Purrs constantly. That is, except for whenever Franklin is:
-Attempting to mount her (with no success, because he's neutured and because he has no balance)
-Biting her head
-Poking her in the tummy with his giant organ-piercing paws
-Stalking her
-Watching her crap
-Pushing her away from her food (how she managed to get fat is beyond me. Seriously, he'll eat her share if given half the chance)
-Hitting her in the face
She does fight back. Problem is, again---the toothlessness. Being bitten by Sarah is like the creepist handshake you've ever felt--soft, weak, wet and ineffectual.
They do have pleasant moments. They groom each other, lie next to one another, the whole nine yards....until Franklin spoils it by chomping her shoulder or smacking her in the head. And Sarah acts like a Lifetime Movie wife in regards to Franklin: SHE GOES BACK FOR MORE. She hates to be away from him and will cry at the door if they are separated. So I don't help her anyone.
Just another expression of the length and depth and breadth to which my cat is a jerk.
No comments:
Post a Comment