Last week, the journal Science published the results of a massive research project by Dr. Carlos Driscoll into the origins of the domestic cat. After six years of collecting DNA samples and examining different species, Dr. Driscoll concluded that 10,000 years ago, in Arab desert lands, wildcats made their way into villages, escaping from predators in the outside world and earning their keep by catching pests. Driscoll has, in fact, narrowed it down to five: From five mother cats centuries ago have sprung every housecat since.
Well, I need to go back 10,000 years and hug those kitties.
I want to hug them for all the joy they've given me, all the cats I've ever known and loved. I would thank them for Tiger, Spock, Maxi Cat, Cougar (the first cat who was officially considered my cat, not a family pet), Mo, Sinbad, Harpo, Timothy, Farrah (I had nothing to do with naming her, though she was a Glamout Cat), Bo (the Robert Mitchum of the cat world), William (my soulmate), Lenny, George, Lohman, Abner, Ferd, Avatar (the only living being I've ever known who I've believed to be purely good), Gunnar, Shady, Shemp, Floyd, Solly (who taught herself to walk again after suffering a stroke, and whose eyes were huge and full of love), Izzy Cohen (named for a Howlin' Commando, and quite bitter about it), Roz and Scotchie(whose black-tipped orange fur formed a ridge down her back, and who was one of the best buddies I could ever have). I'd thank them for Pinback, who wasn't really a cat--she was a strange visitor from the planet Zontar--but who assumed the earthly form of a cat, so she owed a debt to those five mothers. I'd thank them for Monika and Midnight, my current companions.
But mostly, I'd thank them for Delmar. Today is my beloved psychokitty's bithday, and while I tried to think of the perfect gift to give him (I thought about gouging out my own eyeball and giving it to him, so he wouldn't have to do all the work), I realized the best thing I can do is to be here for him, to feed and water and hang out with him, to remind him every day how much he's loved.
Del hopped on my lap briefly as I wrote this, rubbed his face against my chin, then left. If that's the only way he has to express his feelings for me, it's enough.
