Feral Cat Fridays: Chi-Chi
We humans may find cats mysterious but feral cat colonies have a lot in common with human societies. There are dominant cats, submissive cats, outgoing cats and shy cats. Some cats crave and grab attention while others prefer near invisibility. And there are those cats who just go about their business with no fanfare and stay above the fray. Chi-Chi was one of those cats.
Like Lanny, Chi-Chi was a member of the golfer litter. His namesake, Chi-Chi Rodriguez, was a flamboyant player in his days on tour but Chi-Chi the cat decided he’d rather fly under the radar. He hung out comfortably with everyone, got along to get along, and lived a quiet, comfortable life among good friends. That’s not a bad plan for life, even if it means your name might occasionally be mispronounced.
If you ask me, the world could use more Chi-Chi’s. Both the cat and the golfer.
I don’t know about Chi-Chi the golfer; flamboyant mostly isn’t my style. (There was that night in 1960s Iowa City when I ended up dancing on a bar, but never mind that.) I’m sure that Chi-Chi the cat and I would get along famously. All it took was one glance at Chi-Chi and Lanny for this to come to mind.
I suspect all of us of a certain age have a few of those nights in the 1960s we don’t want to talk about. But I’m glad I was there back then and I wish I’d been in that Iowa City bar, too. As to Groovin’ with the Rascals, our cat colony was full of fans of that song. Watching out the window on a warm, sunny afternoon was a lesson in the good life.