Metric

Metric had quite an unusual start on Planet Earth. He had wandered into a farm when the temperatures were starting to dip past the freezing level. Some teenagers who lived at the farm were able to corner and capture him and put him in a big box with thier own kittens that they had to give away or be taken to the local pound which isn't a very nice place and the life span there is approximately one week. They were giving them away at our local grocery store and Susie came home with these two kittens one already
plumping out and a starving black and white white wild kitten no bigger than a large mouse. Once gaining entrance to our house he looked for the lowest place with a roof which happened to be my dresser and there he stayed. Until I talked
him out. From there on, Metric belonged to me. I would take him with me everywhere in my coat pocket and he was starting to show signs that he just might make it. You know, some canned food, some milk ect. But be aware, anything left on any surface that he could make it to, ended in his starving stomach. Totally wild, must have been the only survivor from a wild cat family or perhaps went looking for food and got lost. Who can tell. Metric thrived in my coat pocket and we became as one, well at least as much as a cat and a person could possibly be. He wouldn't let Susie get anywhere near him and if anybody came over he was gone. Good example of this was when Susie's son Eric came over for a few days on the Christmas Holliday. Never once did Metric show himself and actually Eric thought we were pulling his strings. This could be a leftover thought from when we came back from Burning Man, yes I shared a few days adventure with Eric who became somewhat freaked out on the night trip home as I was dodging floresent objects and pink bunnies. The kind of stuff one normally sees after spending 35 days at The Burning Man. When we got home, I forgot Eric was locked in the camper and went on in the house and fell into a deep and dreamy sleep. Eric had to dissassemble the door to get out but I see I am getting off track. Of all our cats we left Metric with his front claws as I never knew for sure that he wouldn't go wild again and being wild it is good to have claws. Anyway Metric liked to sun himself on the large garbage can or if there were boxes on the can of course these became his roost. Now I am using roost not in the normal sense as I know that roost pertains to chickens and the such. Well, one day Metric is no longer with us. We hate to think the worse but both knew deep down that he had been in a box I had on the Garbage Can and had been dumped into the Garbage Collection Truck and smushed. And he was my favorite cat. We looked for him in vain even going as far as the garbage site and dimly hoping that by some chance......... Then one day, swear to God, Fathers Day, this was at least two months after his dissapearance I walk out to get the mail and I see this thing that I believe to be an airborne skunk cause it was flying thru the air between posts on the railing on the porch and four paws and claws stuck firmly into my pants and leg. Yup Metric had beat all odds. He somehow avoided being totally smashed cause that is what they do with the trash with powerful hydrolic cylinders that keep smashing and smashing till they finally can get no more into the truck then dump the thousands of pounds of trash over a dump site. Don't ask me how or how he found his way home after so long , about 6 miles or so and intact to boot. Well he was quite a bit worse for wear but didn't take long to get back to speed, heal up from numerous fights he had been in and give a final growth spurt as if in defiance of the trash system. To this day he is My Cat but will let Susie get around him. This came about from her feeding all our cats, five at the time before we gave one to Eric, canned food. And to think that it happened on Fathers Day. You tell me there is not a God that looks after animals too. He will no longer have anything to do with the garbage can as you might imagine. Other than run like hell when the truck makes it's stop at the house.