Cindy Visits Lenny and Riley
November 19th 2008 21:00
Riley
It’s funny how sometimes you end up meeting people when you are in the worst frame of mind for socialising.
At Susannah Place Museum in Sydney, there are two cats that hang around outside the building. One of them is a tuxedo cat called Lenny. The other one is a ginger and white cat called Riley.
I was walking past there one afternoon when I noticed this woman sitting outside, watching the cats. I walked past her and stopped to stroke Riley. Having Aspergic tendencies, I wasn’t in the mood for talking to anyone, especially a stranger. I hoped she would leave me alone.
“He’s friendly,” she said.
I looked up and said, “I know.” Here we go again, I thought. She’s going to tell me the cats don’t bite and that it’s okay to stroke them. Instead, she surprised me by saying “This one’s Riley and the other one is called Lenny.” She then started filling me in on the history of the cats. She told me a few years ago Riley, who likes to sit under cars, was run over and had his shoulder broken. I was surprised to hear both cats were at about ten years old; I had assumed they were much younger. She also told me the cats weren’t strays; that someone who works at the Museum takes care of them and locks them up each night. Intrigued, I asked her how she knew so much about them.
She smiled and started telling me her story. It turns out she was an American air hostess called Cindy and she had been visiting the cats for years. She always tries to be on flights to Sydney because one, she loves coming here and two, so she can see the cats. Sometimes she will try to come to Sydney weekly.
Wow! It’s not every day you meet a air hostess. Impressed by her devotion, I then told her I often pay the cats a visit when I am in the area.
“I’m glad that someone else comes to visit them,” she said. “There’s a vet who comes to do checkups on them. Sometimes you will find them hanging around behind the building. If you don’t see them, just call out their names and they will come running.”
I was still stroking one of the cats. All of a sudden, he turned his head and tried to bite my wrist. I immediately pulled my hand away.
“That’s a love bite,” said Cindy. “He’s trying to tell you he likes you.”
That was interesting to know. I always thought cats biting after being petted meant they were tired of being stroked and wanted to be left alone. Maybe the Grouchy Tuxedo Cat, another cat I like to visit, wasn’t so grouchy after all.
That was several weeks ago. I still walk past Susannah Place Museum on the weekends but instead of just keeping an eye out for Lenny and Riley, I now also look out for Cindy. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen her since.
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