Remembering this story from February, 2012
MOLLY OR QUEEN
My sister called shortly before dark
Monday evening to share their unfolding adventure. It seems an
unfamiliar cat was trapped in a tree in their backyard. It was
frightened and crying. My brother-in-law had made several attempts to rescue the
feline at the exclusion of climbing up himself to retrieve it. He has a
heart condition and this would not have been a wise move.
Sis told me her spouse was on his way to
the fire department to see if they would or could help They could not
and would not. So much for the stories of firemen rescuing stranded
cats. All they could do was suggest placing an open can of cat food at
the base of the tree to entice the cat down.
There was a lot of unrest in their
household watching the cat and keeping an eye on their dog each time he
went out so he wouldn't eat the cat food. Plus they imagined the food
would attract all kinds of critters into their yard during the night.
The next morning the stranded cat was still huddled in the tree with
untouched cat food on the ground.
After searching google for possible
answers to the dilemma they decided on calling a tree trimmer. The man
came out and using his proper equipment for tree climbing, rescued the
cat. The tree man gently placed the saved cat on the ground. The
beautiful calico sniffed the food then turned haughtily and walked away
to what we assume was the direction of her home. My sister who had
planned on having this rescued cat in her life forever since it would
feel such a sense of gratitude, was offended as, after all their trouble
and expense, the cat just walked away. "Bitch" my sister muttered.
Thus arrived the question of what do you
call a female cat. Everyone knows a female dog is a bitch and a male
cat is a Tom. Does everyone know that a female cat is either called a
Queen or a Molly? This one was undoubtedly a Queen. She did not bother
to run away, she simply departed at her own pace very regally without
so much as a "by your leave".
