A Cat Named Spiral

My newest addition to our family fit right in with the help of Biscuit. He officially took over the job of showing him the ropes. Biscuit showed him where to get food and water and where to do his poos and wees. Where to get the best scratches, the best cuddles and whose bed to sneak into at night. Since he was an official member of the family the kit needed a name.

So I looked at him to get some kind of clue and the name Spiral popped into my head. Why? Because the tabby like markings on his tail resembled rings.

Like Biscuit, Spiral had his own set of endearing qualities. First, he must have been around a dog because he would sit up on his hind legs and beg like one. Yep, with two front paws held up and pleading eyes to boot. I'm so sorry I don't have photos of that. Back then digital cameras were not on the scene yet, so my pictures were 35mm.

Spiral also wagged his tail when he was happy. Not like a dog, but his tail would stand straight up and quiver.  Also, instead of meowing like a normal cat, Spiral would squeak. One had to really pay attention to hear him, whereas Biscuit was the loudmouth of the family.

Biscuit took personal charge of raising Spiral. He tried to keep the little guy out of trouble but sometimes Spiral was too much for him to handle. Spiral loved to climb the curtains and perch himself on top of the curtain rod. Most times he couldn't get down, so Biscuit would run and get me and lead me back to where his charge was. I would take him down and scold him. That usually worked for about two hours and he was back on the same curtain rod again.

One of the most heart rending times was when I took Spiral to be spayed. He had to stay overnight and poor Biscuit was besides himself with worry. I'd made doubly sure when I packed Spiral in his carrier, that Biscuit was not around to see. But you know that cats are extremely sensitive to vibes, and Biscuit knew something was up when his new buddy suddenly disappeared.

Biscuit drove both Mom and I nuts plaintively crying all night and didn't let up until Spiral got back home the next day. Of course, Biscuit had to give Spiral a thorough inspection after I released him from the carrier. After the inspection Biscuit looked like he told Spiral "I see you got one of those operations too, eh? But, its all good because we have each other."

While Biscuit grew into a small fine boned cat,  Spiral grew into a monster twice his size and weight. Even though Spiral was larger he never bullied Biscuit. When he did try, Biscuit gave him a couple of well placed whacks and that ended that.

As they grew older together I noticed a pecking order had been established between them. I fed both cats from one bowl. Both would come to eat at the same time but Spiral would calmly curl up and wait until Biscuit ate his share, then eat after he was finished.

Somewhere along the way they both decided it was preferable to lick drips from the tub faucet than drink from a bowl. So, I used their second bowl which had been earmarked for water, for dry food and left the tub to drip for them.

So far it was a match made in heaven.

Dawn Skyy