Whilst walking back to our condo I ran into a lady named Pat. She was filling up her many bird feeders with all kinds of grain and seeds. I had never seen her before, so I said a polite “hello” and walked a bit slower to see if she would engage in conversation with me. She replied with a joyful “hello, how are you?” and we began talking about the wonderful birds and squirrels that frequent her feeders.
She was dressed in a pair of leggings and a big white shirt with a picture of a bear and an American flag with the words ‘Home of the Brave’ written on it. Her make-up was done and she wore bright pink lipstick. She lit up like a christmas tree when I told her I was from Australia and she invited me into her home to meet her cats. Her “children”, she referred to them as. A rag-doll named Cody, and an orange tabby named Sabrina. At the chance of offending her, I chose not to mention my allergies to felines and came in and pet the furry creatures. Her home was filled with all kinds of Cat furniture… and when I say filled, I mean filled! Pieces of carpet covered cat jungle gyms taller than me long every wall. Cat beds and heated pads strewn across the floors and up on shelves for them to laze about on. It was a cat haven and I knew… for the first time in my life, I was inside the dwelling place of a real life cat lady.
