T-kun The Urban Warrior

Our hairy (first) son's name is T-kun... we've talked about him before - and indeed he's been a constant companion throughout our marriage. He's now just under 8 years old, and he's definitely a funny old fella. How to describe him? Well, Energetic... Heroic... Clever are all words that might be used... by someone that didn't know him well, that is. He is a gentle soul however. Satisfied with the gentle ebb and flow of the world and it's many mysteries. He may well be a philosopher, but if he is, it's of a particularly somnambulant variety. Then again, he often assumes a somewhat thoughtful gaze as he dozes off to sleep.

And his thoughtful gaze is almost invariably done laying on his back, which he does for hours on end. I'm not entirely sure if it's not because he can't get up, or because he's just one lazy cat. I wouldn't say that he's fat, just gravitationally challenged. Of course, it could be that he's just exhausted from all the running around he does...

As deep down in his chest, there lies the heart of a tiger. Beating strong with the desire to hunt on the plains, the soft beat of drums echoing through the heat haze....

Unfortunately, there's only one small problem with this vision. In our backyard, he's often the one being hunted....

Now T-kun is not entirely an indoor cat, but he is a backyard cat (given that he can't jump to save himself, he rarely goes out the front). He's also been, how shall I say, enhanced in a surgical way.... er... downstairs. As a result, he's never shown any interest for actually catching anything he hunts, and therefore, being a quite rational realist has never really seen much point in hunting at all. Suits us... the thought of him bringing in his sporting trophies is not something that makes us shine with pride.

Now there's a particular type of bird in Australia known as a Willie Wagtail, actually a distant relative of the crow... and what it lacks in size it makes up in complete kamikaze abandon. They are, to put it bluntly, VERY crazy birds. Especially come spring when they get all territorial... but even then, they seem to actually enjoy the teasing part more so than the warning part. It's times like these that I kinda wish that T-kun would revert just a little to his primeval instincts... if only just enough to muster just a little bit of pride.

Then again... he can't be spending his time worrying about such things as pride; not when there's thinking to be done. After all, there's only so many hours in the day.

He may not be the urban warrior of his dreams, but we love him all the more for it.