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COLUMNS: Quirky kitty cats

Some people have pet cats. Some cats, like mine, have people.
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Cats certainly make life more interesting as Diana French explores in this weeks columns. These two, Albus and Ella, are among the 7.9 million cats said to live in Canadian households.(Nicole Crescenzi/Black Press).

Some people have pet cats. Some cats, like mine, have people.

Captain Jack was a gift from GD#5 who thought I needed company. He is good company. He shares chairs, greets me royally when I come home from anywhere, and cuddles by putting his head under my chin, his front paws kneading my shoulder, purring all stops out. He tries this cuddling with visitors, too, especially those who don’t like cats.

But. Whenever I pick up a book or newspaper, Jack parks himself between me and whatever I’m trying to read.

Work on the laptop? He either walks or sits on the keyboard or wants to cuddle. He thinks it’s his duty to accompany everyone to the bathroom where he sits on the counter waiting for whomever to turn on the tap.

He has a fancy fountain but he prefers tap drippings. He’s learned how to switch off the bathroom light and knows it gets a reaction when he does.

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He crawls in dresser drawers and other small places, occasionally getting trapped. He can’t or won’t meow unless he gets hurt, so when he gets stuck he’s often there for a while.

Over the winter Jack spent hours crouched on a window sill, licking his chops over a flock of chickadees that gathered in the lilac bush and frequented the bird feeder. On the first warm day he went outside to get a closer look at them but they flew away in one big noisy swoop, scaring the daylights out of him. He’s now very cautious about going outside.

He certainly keeps life interesting.

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According to the United Nations, Canada ranks ninth on the world’s Happy Country list. The Social Democratic Nordic nations dominate the top ten with Finland #No. 1. No surprise that the war-torn countries were low on the list.

Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian and book author.