A Fond Farewell to Wild Cat

Lilybit's Tribute to Wild Cat

Last year I had an interview with a wise old Wild Cat. She was a precious feline friend and muse to Mom’s writer friend, Elaine Stock. I’m sad to report that Wild Cat has passed away recently—at the ripe old age of around 19! (That has to be comparable to at least a 100-year-old human!)

Wild Cat helping her she-human, Elaine.

She gave good advice, too, saying the best feline muses take care of themselves first and then make sure their humans are happy and well rested, so they will be more productive. (Like I’d ever let that happen around here. It’s just too tempting to be a pest while they’re sleeping. Wild Cat was much nicer than I am.) Not only was she a great muse and liked to cuddle Elaine while she was writing, but she also helped her he-human, Wally, restore pianos. (See photo below.)

This was Wild Cat in her younger days. (Her he-human restores pianos for
a living and she's making sure this piano doesn’t walk away.)

In her earlier years, Wild Cat was at the bottom of the pecking order with two cat siblings, though she had enjoyed snuggling with them on top of clean laundry in a basket. Since they went on to kitty glory about nine years ago, Wild Cat had reigned supreme. She liked to keep Elaine company at her 3 a.m. breakfast and often enjoyed a few stray muffin crumbs. Though quieter than her name suggested, Wild Cat did like to bellow at dinnertime, waiting for her own, well-deserved taste of Elaine’s dinner.

No more will Elaine and Wally see Wild Cat's ears peeking through the window while she waited for them to come home. And even though she tried to disguise her gladness at their return, as she thumped down off the trunk by the window where she waited, they knew she cared.

Wild Cat is greatly missed and onto her eternal reward, which I believe must include an all-you-can-eat tuna buffet, mice to chase (Hey, it’s not their heaven.), and laser beams to attack, while running through a meadow of sweet smelling grass! And when she’s tired, she can nap in the sunshine. So I say a fond “good-bye” to my elderly friend, Wild Cat, who lived a full and delightful feline life with her humans, Elaine and Wally.

See you on the other side someday, Wild Cat. May you eat, nap, run, and play
in peace.

Wednesday Whimsy--Meet Wild Cat and Writer, Elaine Stock

Interview with a Cat: Meet Wild Cat and human companion, writer, Elaine Stock

Elaine Stock is one of Mom’s writer friends who has been an encouragement to her. Today I am interviewing her feline friend, Wild Cat, to find out the real story on Elaine. As usual, I think it’s important to give the cat’s eye view.

Hi, Wild Cat, thanks for joining me today on Wednesday Whimsy. How long have you owned your human? What’s the best way to train your human?

My human companion and I go back eighteen and a half years. Despite all the jokes about cats owning humans, Elaine and I are more dear friends than slave master and slave. I used to be the bottom rung of a 3-cat household, but after my adopted siblings went to a far better place than I can imagine right now (I mean, life here with Elaine and Wally is beyond purr-fect) I became rightly the center of attention. So much that my humans promised no more furry additions for as long as I rule the home turf. That’s way okay with me. I hate to admit it, but in human terms I’m really about a 100 years old and I hear my humans say to others that I’m “frail and wobbly.” Ah, the joys of aging! I try my best not to let the arthritis in my legs bother me… I won’t go on about my other ailments.

Although I’m not in this photo (my past step-siblings are),
this is a purr-fect example of how we cuddled in the laundry basket

The best way to train humans is to be cute as anything. In my youth I used to jump onto the washing machine and hop into the laundry basket with my siblings—we’d curl up in twists and turns and look downright adorable. Since my she-human is glued to her computer when not abandoning me for hours during the day (something about working for a living to make cat food money, but I can’t grasp this concept) I’ve been curling up beside her. Every time she bounces up to retrieve something, answer the phone, or any lame thing that takes her away from me, I sit right up and make sure I look pathetically longing upon her return. I just don’t get why she can’t get off the computer and curl up with me for a 3-hour nap… something about making up pretend stories and trying to get others to see them. She might have used the phrase “vying for publication” a few times. I have better stuff to think about—like dreaming of steak dinners served to me by mice—than to pay that much attention to her human goals.

What does Elaine write?

If you look all over my house-nest, it’s loaded with Bibles, crosses, religious pictures, and these Christian-themed books, both fiction and non-fiction. After many years of trying to write stories for just anyone, she’s now knuckling down to write these stories that offer hope, with the strong message that God’s love for us—even for dogs!—is so incredibly powerful that it can help humans out of hard-pressed situations or relationships. My human, Elaine, is really attuned (not bad vocabulary for a cat, huh?) to how people interact with each other, especially families.

Wild Cat helping Elaine

How do you help her with her writing?

Again, it’s the adorable-factor. I give her my best cute and cuddly look while beside her. This makes it difficult to not only jump up and walk away from the computer but makes her realize that she doesn’t want to keep leaving the house to go to this thing called a “day job.”

Also, I must say I’m a bit computer savvy. Back in my youth Elaine used to have this funny looking Mac computer that looked like a weird dome from a bad sci-fi movie. I used to hop on top and sleep—you know, just to make sure the computer wouldn’t move on her. And, before she bought her recent laptop, the old laptop was so bad that she was using it with her old desktop keyboard hooked into it. My self-appointed job then was to rub my chin against the keyboard and help her to open files and pages. Despite her saying she didn’t need those things opened just then, I knew better! Cats are always right.

Absolutely, Wild Cat, keep up the good work! 

Any advice to budding feline muses? How can we best help our writing humans?

This was me in my younger days (my he-human restores pianos for
a living and I’m making sure this piano doesn’t walk away).

    1. Always remember that your needs come first before your human author’s needs. A well fed, warm, and happy cat improves the concentration of the human writer.

    

    2. If you see your human becoming frustrated while she clicks away on the computer keyboard, create a distraction. Sure, a hairball attack is the old standby, but first try running throughout the house bellowing like the place is on fire when all you want is that steak those silly mice failed to carry in on gold platters.

    3. I know it’s difficult to let the human sleep throughout the night. (What’s up with that? Why they don’t want to play all night is beyond obscene.) But believe me, a happy and well-rested human tends to create much better and abundantly. If they’re happy, that means we get more cuddling. Remember, the object is to be perpetually satisfied and whatever it takes to get the human to make us happy is worth doing!

 Thank you, for letting me interview you today, Wild Cat. Cats everywhere will appreciate your advice to remember it’s most important to meet the cat’s needs first. I can see wisdom has come with your age, indeed!

Elaine Stock never expected that a college major in psychology and sociology would walk her through the see-saw industries of food service and the weight-loss business; co-ownership with her husband in piano restoration; and ten years in community leadership. All great fodder for creating fiction. She writes contemporary fiction, exploring the dynamics of family and other relationships. Her first short story was published on Christian Fiction Online Magazine and in the spring of 2011 she shouted with joy that she'd placed in the Semi-finals category in the ACFW Genesis Contest for her novel WALK WITH ME. In 2013 she received the honor of My Book Therapy's Frasier Bronze Medalist award for her novel NO GOING BACK.

Elaine Stock's fabulous blog, Everyone's Story, is a place where she 

encourages writers, readers and well--everyone. Visit Everyone's 

Story to learn more about Elaine and her writing life.

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drawing for a paperback edition of Brave New Century and assorted

Lindt Lindor Truffles!