Sunday, August 19, 2012

Edmund, the One-Eyed Cat



The resident “manager” at the boarding kennel where I’ve been working for the past five months is a grey and white kitty cat named Edmund. Because I am now his primary food source on most days of the week, and I spend a little time every day to scratch between his ears, we have become good buddies.

Edmund has used up one of his nine lives since coming to live at the kennel, and he is lucky to be alive. A couple of years ago he was run over by a car in the parking lot, which crushed one side of his head. Being the super-cat that he is, Edmund survived this terrible accident, although he lost his right eye as a result. His eye lid is now permanently sealed shut, giving him the affectionate nickname of One-Eyed Jack.

Ed lives at the kennel full-time. He has a kitty condo in the reception area and enjoys the run of the front office area and the 100 acres surrounding the kennel. He likes to sneak back into the dog runs when he can, but we highly discourage this activity. It’s not that Ed cares one iota about the other animals, but he can definitely be an irritant to them and cause general unrest among his canine friends.

One of Ed’s favorite lounging spots is on the reception counter, where he has to be physically relocated to the desk chair several times each day when clients come in to pick up or drop off their pets. He also finds sunny spots during the day, where he can be found in one of the many windowsills, on one of the welcome rugs, or in a reception area chair.

When Edmund spends the night outdoors, I can see him running across the field to greet me as I drive into the parking area in the morning. As soon as I park my car, he jumps up onto the car roof, and if the window is open, even a crack, he leans over toward the window, and swats my hair with his paw until I get out of the car. Once inside the kennel, he jumps up onto my desk and head butts me until I put my things away and turn on the computer. He is relentless until I give
him my full attention and fill up his food bowl for him. After this is accomplished, he then ignores
me for a few hours while he catches up on his beauty rest.

Ed is an expert at changing the settings on the printer, keyboarding gibberish on the computer screen, and generally being a nuisance at my desk. I consistently search for missing ballpoint pens and pick up papers from the floor that he has knocked over in one of his quick entrances or getaways. There are times when I have to either secure him in his condo or encourage him to go outside to play.

Edmund doesn’t know that he is handicapped. Actually, I wonder if he really is. While he
doesn’t have the vision of a two-eyed cat, I don’t think he knows at all that his vision is less than it was before his accident. He never misses a jump, and he is an expert fly-catcher. I’ve seen him sneak up on a cricket and nail it with one leap. I’ve also rescued a chipmunk that he caught and held him until it could escape.

Edmund is quite the cat.

I am glad that he is my friend.