autum

Mrs Dust has a cat. Her name is Autum. Why she is named Autum and not Autumn we do not know. When we first got the cat two and a half years ago she was already three, had already given birth to a litter of kittens, and had already lived with whatever shame she could have from a misspelled name. We decided against renaming a cat that was so old, though I am sure Autum could care less.

Autum is a skiddish cat. She loves to be around Mrs Dust but she has never trusted me. If I so much as take a step in her direction she heads to the other room. She will only stay within arm-reach of me if she is closer to Mrs Dust. Even then she frequently darts away from me if I move to pet her.

Autum now has one more reason to hate me. She has had an infection in her ear canals on and off for the past few months. When it flares up we are supposed to squirt a drop of medicine in her ears every day to get rid of the infection. Have you ever held down a well-adjusted cat and shoved something in her ears? How about a neurotic cat who believes you have it in for her? Needless to say, when she goes through those treatments we are not on speaking terms. She does forgive Mrs Dust for her role in the squirtings, though. Stupid cat.