Samantha is basically an outdoor cat. She spends most of her time in the cellar where the temperature stays close to earth temperature all year, in the crawl space where she has a nice big dry sand pit that's normally kept clean by a friendly possum, on the porch where she watches for her Human Godmother and Kibble Dispenser to come and go, and in the orchard where she cavorts with Burr and chases mice and crickets.
If she wants to be in the house, which she usually doesn't because her family are outside and the dark corners indoors are often protected with mothballs, she can come and go through a cat door.
So why has Samantha started following me through the front door? She's not the kind of pet who wants to stay within six feet of me wherever I go. She wanted to tell me something.
What she wanted to tell me, I've confirmed through repeated observation, is that although she doesn't live indoors, she wants an indoor litter box. The box is still there from when she had kittens and used it. The sand has by now been removed. Samantha routinely runs to the litter box and paws at the bottom of it, releasing traces of that special odor-neutralizing stuff they add to commercial cat-litter sand.
Hence the following Cat Interview:
PK: "Samantha, why are you obsessed with that old litter box? Is Present Possum not doing its job?"
Samantha: "Present Possum cleans up everything. I want a litter box of my very own."
PK: "But why? You don't use it. You don't hang out indoors. You don't have kittens indoors to protect."
Samantha: "I heard you say to another human, 'We can take another cat if you can bring it in its own carrier. If it can stay in its own cage for a while, and if it comes with its own food, that will help.'"
PK: "So? That human found a Purrmanent Home for that cat, anyway, without having to send it up here. I like that. The fewer temporary places in between a cat's former home and its Purrmanent Home, the better. Don't you agree?"
Samantha: "I agree! Especially if they're the 'alpha female' sort of cats, like old Heather, or like that daughter of mine."
PK: "Don't you think Serena can handle those? I'd be more concerned about Serena being tempted to bully new cats. A person who hadn't noticed how she slaps or nips when stroked, but not when scolded or picked up and moved, might think she was a mean cat rather than just a big rough cat who likes to play."
Samantha: "I love my daughter and want her to be happy, but there are limits to everything! I want every other cat around here to know that this is my house, and I'm the one who used this litter box before they came here. That's what!"
PK: "Commercial cat litter costs money. Quite a lot of money considering that it's basically sand. Also, it's heavy to lug in and out. Also, when you've used it, it has to be cleaned out by me, not by the possum."
Samantha: "I know! That's the point! Serena may be the Queen Regnant, but I am still the Queen Mother around here. Even if I am a little Scaredycat...other cats do have some respect for seniority--and that's mine! I want a litter box inside the house!"
PK: "I'm the one who spends money on such things and I say you don't need a litter box inside the house, unless the weather turns bitterly cold, or you have kittens, or some such thing."
Samantha: "You should ask your readers to send us a fresh box of cat litter then. I see the old box has a crack halfway up the side, so I'll be nice and use the old scoop...I am determined that any other cat who comes here, including my own grandkittens, will know for sure that this was my litter box before they came here. This matters to cats, and they must know!"
Anyone who feels inclined to humor Samantha may send a U.S. postal money order to Samantha, c/o Boxholders, P.O. Box 322, Gate City, Virginia, 24251-0322. Although I think she's being silly, myself, I will use funds sent to Samantha as she has clearly requested. Anyone who feels inclined to support this web site, the other cats, GBP, me, or Glyphosate Awareness may send the postal order to Boxholders, P.O. Box 322, without mentioning Samantha.
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