Lovely to see you again my friend
Walk along with me to the next bend
— Justin Hayward, The Moody Blues
The golden-haired, yellow-eyed cat appeared at our back door several years ago. Whether she was looking for a meal or simply was attracted by the comings and goings of our other animals, we don’t know, but it seems she knew our home was a place that welcomed animals.
Of course, we put out food for her. Of course, that meant that she would return for more.
We attempted to find out if she was part of one of our neighbors’ households, but came up blank. She did not look starved, so she must have had some other source of food (perhaps the chipmunks, birds, and mice that are always in plentiful supply). She was not feral, for she welcomed affection. As she spent more and more time at our back door, it was not long before we invited her inside.
Our other cats took an instant dislike of Goldilocks (or Goldie) as we called her. When she moved in, it became necessary to designate separate parts of the house for each of them to avoid hissing and clawing fights. Putting her back outside, except during the day when we knew she’d be safe from any predator coming down from Sugar Hill State Park, was out of the question. She was now part of our family.
Every now and then, we wonder where her home was, and whether her “family” was missing her. We reasoned that, if she really wanted to go back, she had plenty of opportunity to do so on the days she spent outside. Instead, she was always at the back door, wanting to come back inside, as 4 o’clock rolled around. No one ever came looking for her.
Driving back home from New Jersey last Saturday, I started thinking about all the people that had been part of my life and who had moved on, seemingly without a backward glance.
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