HARRY'S CHOICE

Roughly around the time we acquired our little cat moth,our next door neighbour but one (that sound wrong but who gives a damn?) also took in a wandering stray,a ginger tom kitten who the named Harry.

Harry,now fully grown to the prime of Tom cat hood,minus a few bits, has been a regular visitor to our house and garden for months. His fur is sleek and glossy,he is superbly fit and undeniably hansom,his is,quite simply irresistible. Not to our female cats so much as to the human residents,we all adore the dear boy and the feeling is mutual.

Day by day Harry spends more and more of his time at our house or in our garden,on wet days he curls up on a chair or on my bed and sleeps away the day,as do our girls and with the exception of the odd spat they are getting along very well. Even Twiggy has been seen to smile benignly from her vantage spot on the radiator at Harry,asleep on Pa's big leather armchair;miracles will never cease!

Harry, used to remaining with us until darkness falls and he was called home now has something of a problem for as the nights drawer in he is called home earlier each night and ,frankly he is always loath to leave. Often he goes when he hears his name called and the returns a little latter and remains for an hour or two,in order for his owners to let him out after dark he must be driving them batty in his eagerness to return to us.

The fact of the matter is that Harry,Haribo or Hal as he is variously called feels that this is his home and the poor creature seems torn when it is time to leave. I would adopt the old boy like a shot but he is,after all someone else’s cat. Not only that but the people he belongs to are the most unpleasant pair of individuals you can imagine ans so ,as you see it is difficult, not only for Harry but for us also.

So as the say Up North “What's to do?” I honestly wish I knew,bit this much I am certain of Harry wants to live with us,he likes our house,he likes the company and he certainly likes the food .

Like Moth he is desperate for love and reassurance as is often the way with cats who have been abandoned,Twiggy has always been clingy in spite of the fact that she has been with s for around nine years she is still very insecure.

When Harry asks to come in I have not the heart to refuse him,his cries are heartbreaking and I am an old softy. There is one more thing,his owners also possess two huge dogs who were until the advent of harry unused to cats in their domain. When in doors,which is most of the time they are kept in cages in the living room they are never taken for walks and apart from being let out in to a very small garden for half an hour here and there they are caged for most of the day.

Harry if terrified of dogs ,even small one give him the jim jams so what it must be like to share a small living room with two huge dogs I can only imagine.

I am convinced that when cold winter arrives harry will settle down in his favourite chair and refuse to budge and I must confess I am worried about his future. I have heard it said that cats choose their owners and I believe this to be true. Harry will decide,but weather his owners will abide by his choice remains to be seen. Dear Harry, I do hope they will.