Main Menu

The Sassy Sandpiper: Cats, Coffee and Contemplation

Cat | Animals | Pets

The Sassy Sandpiper contemplates the bond between human and cat.

By M.R. WILSON, Columnist, TB Reporter

Long gone are the days of substitute teaching when I woke at 4:45 a.m. to the sound of a coffee maker gurgling on.

Nowadays I wake to cat-things ranging from purring to anxious meows (perhaps the food and water dishes are empty), to the dreaded retch of imminent vomiting, to turf war screams, to little feet clawing for purchase in wild pursuit over wood floors, to a leap from a bookcase that ends in noise like cannon fire, to a 10-pound-plus creature landing full force on my full bladder. There can be no delay—no swatting the snooze button even if I had set the alarm.

Not that it’s always that dramatic. Just as many days begin gently with dawn’s first light seeping through the blinds, the mockingbird’s serenade, or the splatter of rain.

I cherish my morning time. No more get-to-work frenzy. I’m convinced I can’t function without coffee, although I’ve cut back. Too much makes me dizzy and I lurch about like a drunk suddenly finding herself in a strange house. Lately I’ve been savoring Organic Carbon Negative Coffee, a birthday gift from my dear son, Luke. “50-lbs. of Good Karma in Every Pound.” Even the light roast is deeply flavorful, smooth and less acidic than the brands typically within my budget.

“The Girls” need to use the single indoor litter box (little prisses), so once all that’s attended to, I settle on the bed with my freshly brewed java, and sip and stare out the windows to the green glory that is my “yarden.” This is how my brain wakes up.Cat | Animals | Pets

Cats, coffee, and contemplation.

My eyes fall into a kind of soft focus. The play of light is magical, especially if it’s dewy or recently fallen raindrops still cling to everything. Palm fronds are gilded in gold. I count 18 white roses, each with tiny universes bouncing back from mini-ponds on drenched petals.

Pixel breaks the trance, purring madly as he curls under my left arm, next to my heart.

Not only are cats constant companions, they offer perfect models of the Buddha Nature—the highest self.  They are my furry little therapists. Boa, especially, is sensitive to my moods. I can’t hide distress from her. She’ll lap water compulsively, only to immediately bring it all up like a gargoyle heaving molten lead. She reminds me not to hold onto that which no longer serves the Greater Good. In cat naps wound nose to tail after a good meal, I’m encouraged to digest, rest, relax and heal.

I need my cats and they need me—not just for basic things like food and water or the occasional stealth nail trim (best done as they nap or wake)—but for the truest, most unconditional love ever known.

Let no one diminish the bond with dogs or horses or cockatiels, either.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” —Anatole France

Cat | Animals | Pets

Sassy Sandpiper | M.R. Wilson | Cats | Coffee | Animals | Pets | Tampabay News

#SassySandpiper #MRWilson #Cats #Coffee #Animals #Pets #TampabayNews