THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 15, 1996 TAG: 9603150583
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GUY FRIDDELL
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Early in January, neighbors Harold and Annette Soldinger saw a magnificent white cat come from an open vent beneath my house.
House-bound on a walker after a fall on the ice, I caught only occasional glimpses of the fast-moving cat, a white blur out of the corner of my eye; but I admired its fortitude.
Certainly no one would wish to close the vent on its scant haven during the frigid ordeal we were all undergoing.
One day, when the temperature inched into the mid-30s, I glanced out a window and saw below me, three feet away, the cat lying on its side atop an air conditioning unit, drawing meager comfort from the metal surface warming in a wan sun.
At first, the great cat seemed sick, near frozen; but then it raised its head slowly to lick its shoulder.
I never saw such a cat, huge and gleaming white as the taffy candy we used to pull in elementary school. Its fur was soft and luxuriant, not just fluffy, but thick, almost curly like the coat of a dog.
It looked like an animal - snow fox or polar bear - at home in the Arctic.
When the back door opened, the cat left its perch in a wink. It must have been a cherished pet, but a week's classified ads failed to bring an owner.
Annette began leaving food near the metal unit, and then the snow cat found a perch atop a nearby 6-foot-square holding cage fenced in for two Labrador retrievers 15 years ago.
Back then, it took one of the Labs, Tyrone, 10 minutes to dig out and appear in the field across the way, frolicking, the cage dismissed. And deservedly so, I thought.
Over the years, pine needles and leaves thatched the top of the abandoned cage. A tree, which sprouted amid the layers, is now 4 feet high. Under the tree rests the cat, watching Annette.
Harold calls the cage the cat's penthouse. Atop that cushioned, lofty perch, a reclining potentate under a leafy parasol, the cat watches as Annette places food nearby. She talks to the cat, but if she makes a move its way, the cat skiddoos.
Two other cats, a black and a gray, have begun hanging around. They squared off the other day, as if to scrap. They must be males.
Meanwhile, Boomer the Lab has been living, during my recuperation, with two of my grandchildren. When he returns and finds his territory abounding in cats, he will not take the matter lightly.
I am still waiting for a durable spell of warm weather during which to close the vent. We have had a couple of mild days, to be followed, probably, by snow next week.
Meanwhile, Annette has noticed that the large white cat seems to be getting larger.
Anybody want a kitten? by CNB