Have I ever told you about Merlin’s Brave Charge?
My darling boy Merlin is not known for his fighting spirit.
When he was an indoor/outdoor cat in his youth, he would get scratches on his butt and tail from running away. We witnessed him being attacked by countless neighbour cats, which he responded to by either crying and running away, or crying and huddling while they hit him repeatedly.
He is a gentle spirit who never hunted. The only ‘gift’ he brought us in his outdoor youth was a mouse skeleton so old it had nearly fossilised, a find he was incredibly proud of.
He’s the cat that watched a video of pigeons eating pasta on the TV, crept up to the screen…and tried to eat the pasta.
Needless to say, outdoor life did not agree with him and he spent most of his time either crying on our doorstep to be let back in, or hiding in the bushes nearby.
As recently as last year, Merlin fled our 1 year-old foster cat who was 3kg lighter than him. She chased him into a corner where he cowered until we dragged her away.
Truly, there is no animal Merlin will not flee.
But Merlin did have a single moment of glorious bravery. When Joh and I used to go for walks around the area (and Merlin was still outdoors on occassion), Merlin would stick close to us and follow us wherever we went.
He loved this. He would roll in dirt and trot ahead of us a few steps with his tail held high before rushing back to the safety of our legs.
Other cats largely kept their distance, though some friendly cats approached for a few scritches before wandering off again.
But there was one cat, a big black tom, that approached us with extreme affection. Headbutts and purring and nearly falling over from kneading the sidewalk.
We happily gave him all the cuddles he wanted while Merlin watched, unbothered and unwary.
And then the black cat, seemingly happy that it had won us over, pounced on Merlin and started to beat him up.
We immediately intervened, shocked, and shooed the cat away. We actually chased him away a few steps.
And Merlin, emboldened by the support of his pack (because he has all the wrong instincts for a cat) CHARGED AFTER the black cat with extreme speed.
He got pretty far away before he realised that we were not in fact charging with him. And then all the confidence left him and he rushed back to us to huddle at our feet, leaving a confused black cat behind him.
And that’s the story of Merlin’s 10 seconds of bravery.
The End.
He got pretty far away before he realised that we were not in fact charging with him. And then all the confidence left him and he rushed back to us to huddle at our feet, leaving a confused black cat behind him.
And that’s the story of Merlin’s 10 seconds of bravery.
The End.
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