Poor little frustrated Bella

Entry posted by docoflove1974 January 14, 2009

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Imagine this: you're a kitty, one who loves to play and spazz out while chasing anything, including your own tail. The first year or so of your life you have a big house in which you can run around, not to mention free reign of the gardens and the wild field behind the house. It's fun! (Well, when you're not being chased by the big bad bruiser Peanut, the older female feline who runs the place.) Life's pretty good. Then your owners decide to move, and they can't take you with them. But there's good news: you get to live with the owner who you love the best, or at least the one who will pay the most attention to you and who will cuddle you. She takes you away to an apartment...not so much room to play in, but at least you can look outside and chatter at the squirrels and birds. Sometimes she lets you go outside, but only if you have a stupid harness on...she's afraid you're going to run away if startled. Ok, she's probably right, but still. Eh, at least you get to go outside...when SHE wants.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present: Bella, my cat.

I felt really bad for her today. It's warm outside--got up to 73'F again today. It's brilliantly sunny, nary a cloud in the sky. The birds were out in full force, fooled into thinking that spring had sprung about 2 months too early. Poor Bella wanted out today in the worst way. She was aching to go out, run around in the backyard, watch the wildlife all around her, sniff the plants outside...she wanted to be free!

The problem? Well, I couldn't go out and play. I had to do laundry in the morning, finish cleaning the apartment, and then was meeting a friend at the museum downtown. Bella wasn't having any of it...she was running around like a total spazz, then pacing around the back door and crying, pleading with me to open the door. She even started pacing around the CD tower where her harness is located. Alas, it did her no good...we still didn't go outside. She was not a happy kitty.

On the other hand, when I came home from the museum, I brought my friend in; Wanda loves cats, and while she had heard stories of Bella, she had never 'met' her. And while Bella is normally a rather skittish cat around new people, she took to Wanda quickly, and even rolled over for a belly rub.

Strange sight of the day

As I was walking the 15 or so blocks from my apartment to the museum, I heard the railroad bells a'ringing...here comes a train. Part of the Southern (or is it Union?) Pacific line runs through downtown San Jose, along my route to the museum. So we all stop to wait...only to see the shortest train I guess one could get. It was just the engine and a tanker car. I couldn't help but chuckle.