Feral Cat Fridays: Hi, I’m Larry …
Last week introduced Harley, a feral cat that emerged from the woods surrounding our clearing with her family of 5 kittens. This week’s hero is Larry, one of those 5 kittens.
Larry was the most identifiable of the 5 kittens. Two were orange tabbies and 2 others were gray striped tabbies, but Larry’s coat was a mass of gray and black swirls.
Larry was a shy, but personable, guy. He kept close to his family, as did nearly all of Harley’s offspring, and spent most of his time in their territory on the east side of our clearing. His primary interaction with the rest of the colony and with us came at feeding time. Harley’s family had claimed one feeding station so effectively that we took to calling it “the Harley Platform.” Other cats might occasionally share a meal at that station, but Harley’s family always ate there .
The photo above shows Larry at an early version of the Harley Platform, before we admitted that we were in this business for the long haul and needed a station more substantial than boards on sawhorses. Later we constructed the more permanent Harley Platform that you see below. It is still standing, though its use these days is a sunning platform or rain protection for the two remaining cats from the colony.
And if you are wondering, “Hi, I’m Larry,” is indeed a hint for the next episode.
I’ll admit it. I watched the video, and when they got to the dead possum out by the well and the guys said, “We’ll take it!” I laughed.
Now I am curious. When I read your title, my first thought was, “I wonder what Larry’s addicted to?”
I can see why the addiction question was the first thing that popped into your mind. I’ve always been a fan of Bob Newhart’s deadpan comedy, so “I’m Larry” and those characters from his comedy series are emblazoned in my brain.
I promise the rest of the mystery, such as it is, will be solved next week. There may be a little follow-up the following week, too, depending on how things work out.