The Divine Feline by Belinda Alexandra

Author:Belinda Alexandra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2020-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

I placed a new long-handled paintbrush in her cage and let her sniff it, then I used it to softly brush her under the chin and around her cheeks. She enjoyed being touched that way and would purr. Still she was wary of me if I got too close, and believe me, I was wary of her. A long-handled paintbrush was as close as I was going to allow my fingers anywhere near those sharp teeth of hers.

When I wasn’t in the workshop, I would leave the radio on ABC Classic FM. Not just for the music but for the soft, well-articulated tones of the announcers. I wanted Rainbow and Lou Lou to get used to different human voices. Gradually I also introduced them to the sounds of household appliances: the rumble of a kettle boiling, the murmur of the television, or the high-pitched hum of a hairdryer. This Finishing School for Stray Cats went on for another couple of months. Then one day as I was cleaning Rainbow’s enclosure, she reached out her paw from her carry case (where she usually hid when I was tidying up).

‘Mrrh! Prrh!’ she greeted me, stretching her paw out closer towards me.

I glanced at her long, untrimmed claws. I sensed that she wanted me to reach out too, but I was worried that if I did and she turned on me, that would be the end of piano playing for me. Still, it seemed like a friendly gesture. I reached out my hand and touched her paw. Then she rolled over. I looked at her face and the frown she always wore had disappeared from it. Her expression was relaxed and soft and I finally got to see how beautiful she was. Her chin, chest and front legs were pure white and the tortoiseshell markings on her face were beautiful. Her ears and aqua eyes were masked in black while her forehead and nose were caramel, as was one of her cheeks. It was a beautiful moment of trust and I realised how far Rainbow and I had come, and how incredible change is possible. I had never expected Rainbow to turn around quite like this.

To complete Finishing School for Lou Lou and Rainbow, I had everyone and anyone who came to the house visit them too. I had to get them used to as many different types of people and their smells as possible. Valentino and Versace had been in Beverley’s enclosure for much longer than the initially agreed two months. Although she was very generous about it, I had to find the homes for the remaining cats. Lou Lou and Rainbow had grown dear to me and I wanted the right people for them. As it turned out, Halina found them for me. In the supermarket one day a woman remarked to her that she was buying a lot of cat food, they got talking and the woman mentioned to Halina that her daughter wanted a tortoiseshell cat!

Julie came to see Rainbow with her two young children, Hannah and Matthew.

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