Queen of the Cats 1. Nix

1.

When the brown and somewhat grizzled tabby cat dropped into a low crouch, so did the woman. From their vantage point, she could see two things: a pair of plump rabbits in a hollow down the embankment and the dead man limping his way down the remains of the asphalt road.

The shambling corpse was nothing near fresh, clothed only in the tatters of a pair of gore stained khaki pants. When she found the more recently-turned-nightmares, she could take them down, smoke the meat and use it to refresh traps for larger prey. She could also use it as bait for the dead in pit traps and on pike lines.

Neither she, nor the cats, would eat it. but this was not a world where you allowed waste. Not anymore.

She glanced at her companion, utterly still except for emerald eyes that watched both dinner and death in turn. Together they waited. Once the dead man was far enough down the road, she signaled to the cat. The silent and massive Maine Coon padded away, heading to circle around to the back side of the hollow. Once in place, she watched the plume of his tail stand upright, then drop. Sampson was ready to work.

Un-shouldering her bow, she tugged an arrow from the quiver, nocked it, raised the bow and in a single act of breath and motion she inhaled while drawing the bow and exhaled while she let the arrow fly. There was no cry from the rabbit, it just tipped over. The second rabbit tried to race out of the hollow, using the worn path. It never saw death come as Sampson pounced, grabbed the rabbit by the throat and lowered himself atop the still struggling rabbit as the small life extinguished in silence.

In a few moments, the woman dressed in greens and browns met Sampson at the bottom of the hollow. He sat calmly beside the rabbits, ready to defend them if he must. "Good buddy", she whispered and slipped him a piece of dehydrated venison. As the cat chewed thoughtfully, he stood, walked a few feet away and sat again with his paw gently touching something before him.

In the leaf litter, he had found a nest of young rabbits. They were cowering and terrified, but their eyes were open and they were large enough to survive. "Welcome to the breeding population, fellas. You are going to the bunny barn".Gently, each of the five kits was placed in a cross-body basket lined with grass. The previous generation were stowed in a oilcloth bag to leave no blood trail behind.

With nearly silent movements, Nix checked the hollow for anything left behind, or edible plants, finally tucking some chanterelles into a pocket. Sampson finished his job of pawing up the earth where each rabbit fell and depositing odoriferous gifts of his own to cover the scent. With a nod to the cat, the pair quietly left the hollow and paused to make sure no new dead had wandered into the area.

A large, red cat with one eye and a permanent scar of a snarl dropped out of a tree ahead of them. Garibaldi reporting that the coast was clear and he was tired of sitting in a tree. He stretched dramatically, staring up at Nix and waiting for his payment. "Yeah buddy, you did good too." Nix stroked his rough coat and felt his deep bass purr for just a second.

The three trekked home with Sampson and Garibaldi alert for the awful dead and Nix obscuring their path and weaving plants and tree limbs to each other to keep away the awful living. Not being found by anyone was pretty integral to not being gnawed into oblivion by the dead, or much worse by the desperate cretins who had never found a place to settle down and try to make a living.

As they approached the abandoned, and likely once charming, chalet, hunting lodge or whatever the hell it had been, more cats popped up out of holes, rustled out from under leaves and dropped down from well hidden perches in the trees making a motley parade of color, pattern, size and fluff that was truly stunning to behold. Nix and her volunteer army all headed for the field stone building that Nix had carefully seeded with moss in the cracks. Later she had transplanted vines near the base. And nailed broken boards across windows. From the outside, the place looked a miserable heap of mold, damp and collapse.

Some thirtyish cats followed. Nix climbed her rope ladder and most of the cats walked the balance beam of the single 2x4 that leaned from the porch to ground for their easy access. On the balcony of the second floor Nix used a rope to pull up a platform upon which several cats were sitting. As they reached the balcony they stepped off the platform with stiffer limbs, limps and one with just three legs. Getting old sucked, but she wouldn't get rid of the creatures that had helped keep her alive, simply because they had aged.


2. Revenant Day

This Olde (Cat)House current cast and alumni

I cannot save them all, but I have helped to save these:

1. SubZero: Angel
2. Annabel Lee: Jennifer F.
   
3. Montressor: Kelli S.
4. Edgar Allan: Kelli S.
5. Lenore: Jennifer F.
6. Catherine Earnshaw: Lisa S
7. Linton: Lisa S
8. Heathcliff: Leigh H.
9. Dorian Grey: Angela W.
10. Mina Harker: Angela W.
11. Mycroft Holmes: Christopher C
12. Sherlock Holmes: Christopher C
13. Irene Addler: Christopher H
14. Josiana: Leanna M
15. Quincey Morris: Arlene L
16. Jonah Hex: Arlene L
17. Isolde: Cathy T.
18. Dana Scully: Kristen G.
    
    
19. Cheeto: Mira and Zayn
20. Dorito: Mira and Zayn
21. Caramel: Sue B
22. Sable: Sue B
23. Cordelia Naismith: Ashley A
24. Lily Durona: Ashley A
25. Rowan Durona: Jayne G
26. Elli Quinn: Susan G
27. Miles Vorkosigan: Rick F
28. Ivan Vorpatril: Rick F
29. Lucy Pevensie: Lisa D
30. Edmund Pevensie: Lisa D
31. Peter Pevensie: Jamaal T.
32. Susan Pevensie; Kristen G
33. Gypsy: Dawn H
34. Silva: Dawn H
35. Auggie Pullman: Kimberly
36. Charles Bingley: Joyce B
37. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Joyce B
38. Allan Quartermain: Daryl and Lisa P
39. Atticus Finch: Angel and Denise M
40. Scout Finch: Angel and Denise M
41. Emily Cratchit: TNVR
42. Armand de Romanus: Working
43. Augustin de Lioncourt: Working
44. Lestat de Lioncourt: Patricia M
45. Deirdre Mayfaire: Working
46. Mona Mayfaire
47. Merrick Mayfaire
48. Emily Bronte: Working
49. Charlotte Bronte: Working
50. Nymphadora Tonks: Kerry G
51. Luna Lovegood: Working
52. Sirius Black: Bethany C.
53. Albus Dumbledore: Ulthar
54. Andromeda Black: Lisa B
55. Bellatrix Lestrange: Lisa B
56. Cuthbert Binns: Crystal G
57. Filius Flitwick: Crystal G
58. Helena Ravenclaw: Annarely M.
59. Poppy Pomfrey: Nate L
60. Minerva McGonagall: Talina D
61. Sybill Trelawney: Victoria
62. Wilhelmina Plank: Victoria
63. Percy Weasley: Ulthar
64. Fleur Delacour: Kerry G.
65. Ginny Weasley: Ulthar
66. Charlie: Beth C
67. Mr. T: Ulthar
68. Maria: Earl and Janet S
69. Hawthorne: Bethany B
70. Rayne: Hexy
71. Lala: Rachel B
72. Nigel: Susan G
73. Salem: Laura S
74. Lavender: Susan H
75. Magic Mike: Shayna R
76. Thunder: Maya H 
77. Lightning: Maya H
78. Idgie Threadgoode: Amanda V
79. Ruth Jamison: Amanda V 
80. Merry: Working 
81. Giles Corey: Working
82. Livvy: Working
83. Providence: Libby and Steve
84. J Alfred Prufrock: Kristen G, Whitney
85. Flapjack: Melissa M
86. Waffle: Karen O
87. Maple: AJ L
88. Elizabeth "Beth" March: Daryl and Lisa P.

Available for Adoption!

1. Bright: Bright white young gentleman with tabby grey patch eyebrows. Loves head scritchings like no other.
2. Jolly Mostly grey tabby with white feet and belly and a few random white spots on his coat. He loves to run and play.
3. Frolic: Interesting grey tabby with cool markings on face. Also fast and likes to play. Right now, little buddy has a cold and is being treated. Poor guy.
4. Blithe: White with harlequin grey tabby patches. He's soft like a stuffed animal.
5. Josephine Jo March: stunning color patched tabby in grey and ginger girl with a white belly
6. Amy Curtis March (Available): beautiful brown marbled tabby girl
7. Margaret Meg March (Available): beautiful brown marbled tabby girl
8. John Brooke (Available): handsome brown tiger tabby lad

My loves converge: Pangur Bán. Cat, poetry, history and medieval scribal arts

Many know that I study the medieval period, especially the art form known as illumination. This art was used to decorate the books of the middle ages and comes in all sorts of forms from glorious to silly, breathtaking to irreverent.

I also foster cats and kittens and work with a non-profit in Tampa, FL named St Francis Society. This group has been doing great work helping the cats of the Tampa metro area have better lives.

I also have an appreciation for poetry both modern and medieval.

If you combine all of these things that I love into one place, you get Pangur Bán.

The poem Pangur Bán comes to us from the 9th century and was written by an Irish monk in a book known as the Reichenau Primer. The Primer itself is a collection of hymns and grammatical texts that was likely pen practice for a scribe. Preserved in the book is also the poem in which the author compares his work of study to the work of his cat hunting mice.

The cat's name in the poem is Pangur Bán, which is not so much a name as it is a description of the cat. In Irish, the word Bán means fair or white. Pangur, however is not an Irish word. The Welsh word pannwr means fuller, which was a job in the middle ages. A fuller used a combination of washes, scouring and felting to remove oils, dirt and impurities from wool cloth. At the end of the process, the wool would be a bright clean white, as well as soft and strong. In short, Pangur Bán was likely an all white, stunning cat. Today, we'd probably say the cat was dazzling white or sparkling white in color. He also seemed to be especially good at mouse murder, enough that he inspired a monk at study to write a poem about the similarities of their dedication to their respective work.

So, here is the poem, translated from the Irish by Robin Flower.

Pangur Bán

Cat and mouse, Hours of Charlotte of Savoy, 

Paris, France, ca. 1420-1425, f° 165r (detail)

I and Pangur Ban my cat,
'Tis a like task we are at:
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill-will,
He too plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry task to see
At our tasks how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
In the hero Pangur's way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den,
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our task we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat, and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade;
I get wisdom day and night
Turning darkness into light.

Created by @LauraEAydelotte with images of materials from Ms. Codex 724 

at the Kislak Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Should you wish to make a donation to St Francis Society Animal Rescue, you can donate at our website. We are a 100% volunteer organization and every dollar raised goes back into food, litter, medicine, medical expenses. All of our adoptable felines can be found showcased on the website as well. If you donate, let them know that Pangur Ban sent you.

My Facebook page hosts a lot of cat videos, memes and pictures. If that's your gig, you are welcome to follow me there as cat posts are all public. Some people like to send cat items directly to my house as I don't usually take from the St. Francis food pantry, leaving it for others who need more help to afford supporting our cats, but it does get expensive and the boxes for the cats are always appreciated. You can find my Amazon wish list here and those boxes are often opened during live unboxing videos where the cats come and go during the live shot. It can get pretty funny.