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| Name: |
Harry
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Age: |
Two years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Tabby
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| Home: |
Prescott, Arizona , USA
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Harry
was sleeping on his box next to the front door and I was working
setting up a shoot. There was a model in the bathroom and I needed a test
subject for the lighting that I was working on. So I picked up Harry and his
box and set them in the middle of the set and asked Harry to pose for me a
little. Afterwards I carried the box with Harry on it back to the front door
where he went right back to sleep.
Harry is the common name for Theodore Harold Edward Cat - T.H.E. Cat. I'm a
photographer and Harry is the studio cat. Normally his job is to entertain
the models and the visitors and sometimes he's a critic too. Also he is my
model when I'm adjusting the lighting for some reason. He is quite
comfortable in the studio.
I was shooting some art from the Dave Newman Studios and Harry seemed to
really like the piece I was working on. So I recomposed and took a picture of
Harry examining the hanging art. He looked at it for several minutes. A
studio cat and critic...
Harry is an orphan. I think coyotes took his family when he was very little.
He appeared at my front door screaming his head off. I didn't have any cat
food so I gave him an egg. He was so small! He could lay down and sleep in my
right hand.
Breakfast time for Harry. (one of many stories) I keep rather unusual
sleeping habits. I will find myself working at odd hours or sleeping just a
few hours and getting back to work. Harry, on the other hand, has always had
good and regular habits and I do as much as I can to support those habits.
As I said, I sleep oddly except for getting up each day at about 7:30. Harry
gets up on the bed and pushes my exposed shoulder until I wake up. He then
goes and gets on his box next to the front door. (It is his box and one of
several "parking" places he has around the house.) This is his queue for
going outside. He sits there patiently as I open the front door, open the
screen door and check the weather. During this time he just sits on the box
and waits. Then I pick him up and carry him outside. We stand just outside
the door for several minutes as "we" check out the sights and sounds of the
morning. And there is plenty to check out too. I live up in a canyon in the
mountains of Northern Arizona and it is rather wild here. There are lots of
sounds of wildlife to be careful of. We then walk to a nearby tree stump and
I set him there and give him a good pet and tell him to be careful. I leave
the front door ajar and in less than an hour his is back inside and wanting
his breakfast.
Now you need to understand something, he almost always has food down and
ready for him but he likes the breakfast routine. So he comes in from
outside, finds me, and we both walk to the kitchen where he climbs up on a
footstool that has a piece of flagstone on it. Often he will wait for me to
point at the stool and tell him to get over there. "Go on, get on your
stool." I pick up his dry food and water from his food station which is on
the other side of the kitchen and take it to the sink where I refresh it all
and prepare a small plate of moist food. I take the small plate of moist food
to him and ask him to "high five" the plate. He stands up and touches the
edge of the plate and then we both walk over to the other side of the kitchen
and I set it down for him to eat. However, he waits there until he gets his
petting, which is a rather rough "good boy!" He gets the rest of his food as
he eats.
A list of tricks:
He is strongly left pawed. He likes to watch TV.
Harry does a lot of things that you might find common with a dog. He comes
when he's called of course and he also performs for food. He understands that
when I point at something I want him to go there.
So he understands "Harry come and get up here." He can "high-five" my finger.
He also lets me know when someone or something is coming to the house, so he
is guard cat.
And he lets me know when something needs attending, like the water is boiling
in the kitchen or the toilet is stuck and running on.
He likes to be carried while he sits on something. And if I scream in his
stomach he stays relaxed and calm - bored perhaps.
And so many more ... I wouldn't call them tricks as much as life skills.
Harry is a good cat.
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