Osa Blending In

Osa-the-Cat has been an official resident of Oysterville for three full weeks now – long enough to do some serious training of her adult housemates and to make the acquaintance of our regular visitors.  She is silent on whether or not she has met Mrs. Crouch, the preacher’s ghostly wife who has been lurking around here since her mysterious death in 1893.

I’m not exactly sure what Mrs. Crouch might think of sharing this old parsonage with a cat.  Given the fact that Sara Crouch was about my grandmother’s age, I doubt that she would approve of Osa or of any other “inside cat.”  Cats were generally considered fine as denizens of the barn, keeping the rodent population down and getting a squirt or two of warm milk directly from the source at milking time.  But, no cats in the house.

Osa on the Windowsill

In fact, upon learning that there was a cat at Miss Campbell’s Boarding House at Portland Academy where her daughter Medora was living, my grandmother wrote:  Don’t be too familiar with that cat.  They are common carriers of disease — especially scarlet fever and diphtheria.  That was in 1914.

By the time I brought a stray cat home during the summer of 1944, my grandmother had mellowed a bit – or at least had become better informed about cats.  She not only allowed Skidney (that’s what some friend named him) into the house but overlooked the fact that he slept on the foot of my bed at night.

Osa Helps With the Income Tax

Which brings me back to Osa.  She, too, spends at least part of each night on the foot of our bed.  If I stay awake late reading, of course, she positions herself directly on my book or at least in the best of the light.  During the day, it’s sunlight she’s after, and she moves herself from window to window as the day progresses, basking in whatever watery warmth the sun provides.  Unless she’s joining in with the chores and activities of the household…

On gray, rainy days, she sits on the carpet near the heat registers, two of which have ‘directional hoods’ which force the warm air out into the room.  She positions herself, sphinx-like in front of one or the other and since both are right in the most frequented traffic lane of the house, she can keep her eye on whatever is going on.

Osa Arranging Flowers

She has also discovered the out-of-doors.  I think it was watching Nyel pitch the little hoppy critter out the door during The Great Tree Frog Incident that alerted Osa to a whole other set of possibilities.  On a Friday night shortly after that, she darted out into the garden when the front door was left ajar and was none too happy when I retrieved her.

Since then, she’s been looking out the windows—especially those that face the street.  So many interesting dogs with their owners and people going back and forth to the church!  As far as we can tell, she hasn’t taken note of the chickens yet but, as far as her indoor domain goes, we think she is taking over in grand style.  Way to go, Osa!  Gordon would be proud.