Walt Disney

Walt Disney: Our neighbors have a plaque in their kitchen that says “House Rules: If it is hungry, feed it. If it is dirty, clean it. If it is sad, love it.” And there are some other rules on the list, but these ones really stuck with me. I like the no-excuses, no complicated who’s-turn-is-it, no who’s-fault-is-it manner of these rules. Life should be simple. If something needs to be done, do it. Then the other night a stray cat came to our back door and I couldn’t help but think of these rules. This was one hungry and sad cat, so I put out food and water, but the cat wouldn’t stop crying until I sat down and pet it for a while. The animal was nothing but skin and bones, but it took a break from eating to get a little love. Our first meeting with the cat was after the kids had gone to bed for the night last Friday. The next morning the cat was still there on the back patio and the kids were very excited to see a new cat. At first the cat wouldn’t get within 8 feet of the kids, but after a day of patience, the cat will let them pet it if the kids stay sitting down (as soon as they stand up, the cat heads for the hills). I talked with the kids about how the cat has to stay outside because we already have an inside cat, and our inside cat has no claws and the outside cat has claws (so I really can’t see the two coming to an equitable arrangement for dividing up territory inside the house). Then I asked the kids what we should call the cat. Their 1st idea was “Sydney”, but we have friends who have a cat named Sydney, so that didn’t sound like a good idea to me. Their 2nd idea was “Wanda”, but that is the name of our cat who lives inside our house, and I tried to explain (again) that it would be confusing to have two cats with the same name. Their 3rd idea was “Walt Disney”, and that is what we’ve been calling the cat ever since (7 days now). Walt Disney comes for food and love every day, and we’ve treated Walt Disney for fleas. Soon we’re going to have to take Walt Disney to the vet to see about other parasites and rabies shots and reproductive sterilization. The kids have been asking for a new pet, everything from hermit crabs to dogs, so maybe Walt Disney will be the answer to their prayers, although I’m already worrying about how Walt Disney will weather the winter and what to do with his/her food and water when the weather turns. I guess we’ll just figure it all out one way or another.