A tale of two kitties

The Cat is completely in love with me, and me alone. This has always got Michele’s goat.

- GREG DIXON

How do you turn a one-cat household into a two-cat household? By pretending to both cats that the other doesn’t exist.

This is the sort of magical thinking that happens all the time at Lush Places. I believe wholeheartedly, for example, that my lawns are lush acres of flawless green clipped to perfection, and not a giant patch of dandelions, daisies, moss and mud that needs another mow. Michele does the same with the veggie garden, which is more of a muddy weed patch with some lettuces.

We both pretend, too, that keeping chickens makes perfect economic sense, that Wairarapa always has just the right amount of sunshine and rain, and that most ram lambs are not bound for the works.

However, this business with the cats has been stretching even our fl air for collective make-believe and mutual deception to the limits as Michele tries to fit, somewhat against my wishes, two into one.

The protagonists are these: the Cat, an ex-Aucklander and a lady of leisure, and Pixie the wild cat, a stray who has become the newest featured artist at the Lush Places Petting Zoo (under construction, still), and who Michele alone has tamed.