Quite Frankly

Meet my next door neighbor Frankie the cat; he’s a cool guy and by no means is he shy. He has a large family; his feline siblings are Daisy, Ziggy, and Marley and his canine siblings are Sparky, Lola, and Nettie. He also has four humans, two of which are away at college. Most mornings he tries to follow his sister Nettie on her walk but gets led back to the safety of his house. Frankie also lends me gardening advice when I’m out tending my beds.

Many a sunny day I will look out my kitchen door and spy Frankie curled up in an orange ball in the hedges or under our honeysuckle bush. Sometimes I let him be but more often than not I am compelled to go to visit with my little buddy. He greets me mewing happily ready for a good rub down and scratching. Every once in a while he has to show that he’s a tough guy and gives me a firm swat and a nip, but he’s not fooling me and I continue on.

Nicki used to try to chase him but she never got him since she was either behind the fence or at the end of her leash. He always seemed willing to make friends with her but she wanted to keep up the classic cat vs. dog rivalry. Last Thursday morning Frankie stopped by our front porch where Nicki was resting to bid her adieu. Now I’m not sure if Nicki didn’t realize he was there or if she simply was finally willing to accept his love, but the Frankster nuzzled up to Nicki for a few moments whispering sweet nothings in her floppy ear. Afterwards he made his way over to me for a love fest.

Last night he was under the honeysuckle surveying the yard behind us when I went out to chat with him. We went through our usual drill of mewing, cooing, and petting. After a few minutes Mike came out to join us and he brought a dog biscuit with him. He held it out for Frankie to sniff; it was a little big for him to handle it so I broke it up so he could eat it. It was such a sweet gesture of Mike’s sorrow to thank Frankie for his friendship. Of course men being men, having to break up the tenderness, Frankie gave Mike a good swat.