Safari Cat

So, one of the blogs I like to read (Queen B) recently talked about going to a 'safari type zoo' in Arkansas. On our way from Basic training to Texas where Keith trained for his particular job in the Army, we went through a safari in Arkansas that is probably the same exact one. At that time, we had one pet -- a cat named Gatsby. He was a gorgeous, black cat. Big and fluffy. And quite sweet...

if he had Prozac.

Maybe.

His first big problem was that he was an un-neutered male cat. Trust me, friends, that is a BAD, BAD thing. Secondly, while I don't know if it is true though it has held true in our household, I have been told that the darker a cat is the worse his temperment will be. This cat came to be know as "Cujo" by one of my good friends in Georgia if that tells you anything.

The safari zoo however was one time that he met his match. We were moving so we had him and other things we needed right away in the car with us. He and I had an understanding (since I also can be pretty mean and stubborn) so when we traveled, we let him roam about in the car. The safari looked like a fun thing to do and we had time so in we went. We drove into the trail and stopped at one point to give some horse like thing (after all it was a long time ago so I don't remember exactly what it was) some of the food we had purchased. Gatsby was on my lap looking around.

As soon as that big wet nose poked in the window, he was done. I'm not sure if he fell or jumped or a combination of the two, but in a matter of moments he hit the floor. I don't think I've seen since a cat hiss, spit, and growl all in the same second but I did that day. With each stop, he got louder and looked desperately for a place to escape. By the time he finished puffing up all his hair, he looked like he might have gotten one of those bad spiral perms.

I really felt sorry for him.

Over the laughter.

At some point he crawled into the backseat floor and cowered until it was over. And there you have it. Our big safari adventure. The price of admission let us see the animals outside but infinitely more entertaining was the one in our own vehicle.