Another Visit With Dorothy

This past Saturday, I paid another visit to Dorothy. I’ll catch you up on a bit of cat news, and also share a small handful of photos I took.

When I arrived, the first thing Dorothy did was show me a folder full of newspaper clippings, letters, cards, and other stuff she has received since her cats have been "discovered" by the media. It was a fairly thick folder.

A couple of the things she received in the mail were addressed to "Dorothy Luff – Cat Lady." She laughed about that. She told me that she’s received $450 in the mail from you kind folks. She has a hundred different maladies, as you know, and included among them is arthritis, so writing notes of thanks isn’t easy. Dorothy wanted to make sure that I told you how much she appreciates the help.

I arrived at her place around noon, just in time to go down into the woods and feed the cats. I carried a jug of water, while Dorothy carried the small sack full of cat food cans.

As we approached the feeding area, a somewhat strange thing happened. When I was last there, and had accompanied Dorothy into the woods, all of the cats stayed a goodly distance away. The cats always come right up to Dorothy, of course, but when a stranger is with her, they are wary. This time, the cats came right up to within a couple of feet of me, just as though I was someone they knew. They didn’t jump into my arms and shower me with kisses, but they showed very little reticence. It was nice of them to trust me.

(Truth be told, I don’t think they especially trust me. I think they're just becoming used to having more people in the woods with them. What with the reporters, animal control people, cat shelter folk, and the others who now like to take the walk with Dorothy, the cats are probably just more acclimated to company in general. They are still wild cats, but Dorothy says some people seem to think it’s a petting zoo. I suppose the friendlier the cats are, the friendlier people will be to THEM, so it’s probably a good thing.

If I had known how chummy the cats were going to be, I would have gotten more photos of them at the feeding station. I didn't expect to get anything good, so I left my camera back at Dorothy's place. I didn't figure photographs of trees would thrill you much. I did get some shots of cats, though, as you'll see later.)

We stopped in at a neighbor’s place, a good friend of Dorothy. Phyllis is a cat owner herself, and a right big cat she has, too. Long-haired and lengthy, he is a well-fed indoor cat named Puffy, and the name fits. If you saw the Channel 5 piece, he was the cat, sitting in the window, to which Dorothy spoke. Anyway, we had a good long visit, shared stories, and enjoyed some laughs. Phyllis’s place is closest to the cats in the woods, and she always keeps an eye out for Dorothy. She’s good people.

Well, it was just a nice visit, uneventful. Dorothy is still not in great health, but she is still in good spirits. Here are a few pictures of cats and Dorothy:



A small handful of the cats will come into Dorothy's actual yard every so often. I got these shots through her screen door in back.




Dorothy has one house cat, and this is her. I believe she was a feral kitten that Dorothy decided to adopt, but I may be mistaken about that. Her name is Barbie. Very pretty cat, a tad overweight. It looks like Barbie is trying to take a bite out of Dorothy's shirt. Rest assured, she isn't. In keeping with my rep as one of the worst photographers on earth, this may be the only time Barbie meowed during my entire visit. So, of course, that's when I snapped the photo.

As I was leaving, I tried to get a shot of Dorothy and me together. As you’ll see, I failed miserably. I tried quite a few times, holding the camera out at arm's length and snapping. Believe it or not, this is the best of the lot. After this waste of time, I showed the awful results to Dorothy. We both laughed, and she said, "YOUR WIFE must have an awful lot of patience."


Well, when a self-professed crazy cat lady chides you for being exasperating, that tells you something.

Soon, with more better stuff.