The Strange Dichotomy of a Housecat Named Lunchbox

Submitted into Contest #187 in response to: Write about a human and a cat that come to some kind of mutual understanding.... view prompt

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Funny Happy Inspirational

There is an interesting dichotomy my housecat suffers through every day. It’s a dichotomy of deficiency and self-actualization.


You see, my gray Maine Coon cat, “Lunchbox,” can be found sitting at his favorite place in the house every morning – the kitchen windowsill which provides an unrestricted view of the backyard, or as Lunchbox imagines it, the “great and wild unknown.”


When Lunchbox rests on his sill, he meows relentlessly. There really isn’t a way to explain this meowing properly.


It has depth. It has sorrow. It has pain.


He has an assortment of meows that communicates different things. You should hear his, “I want a kitty-treat” meow, it’s pathetic.


Understand, Lunchbox is merely a housecat. He hasn’t developed his feline hunting or survival skills like many of the seasoned cats in the neighborhood, but he doesn’t know this. To him, he’s the king of his domain; the dominant hunter of house mice; executioner of the random fly that escapes the dangers of the outside world. Little does the fly know, once he escapes the dangers of the outside world, a new danger lurks inside the house. Lunchbox lays waiting to pounce to protect his dominion (a four-bedroom house with no danger aside from my 7-year-old daughter’s frequent Lunchbox makeovers).


Despite his arrested feline hunting skills and the occasional humiliating kitty-makeover, Lunchbox still seems to have the confidence of any apex predator who maintains dominance over their domain, but Lunchbox feels like the house is not enough…he craves something more.


He spends inordinate amounts of time perched on his windowsill observing the backyard, meowing and meowing and meowing and meowing…and meowing.

***


A potential cause of his innate need for exploration is his origin story.


On my way home from work in 2016, I found Lunchbox on a small country road in the middle of rural Georgia. He was just a kitten at that time. I was almost sure he was abandoned – there wasn’t a house for miles.


When I saw this kitten in the middle of the road I immediately stopped to investigate. When I got out of my truck to pick him up, he scurried into the brush. After some time (as well as some scratches from the brush and kitten bites) I eventually caught him.


It was apparent he was left in the elements for some time – he was feral, emaciated, and stunk to high heaven. He also had a small, infected wound on his hip.


When I got him into my truck, the only readily item within arms reach was my lunchbox. So, I placed him in my lunchbox with a small opening so he could poke his head out and breathe, hence the origin of his name.


I couldn’t imagine why someone would leave a small Maine Coon kitten out in the middle of nowhere.


Despite me not being at cat-person AT ALL, I couldn’t just leave the little guy. I knew he needed immediate medical attention, so I drove to the closest animal hospital to drop him off.


The veterinarian asked if the kitten was mine. I said no because I had no intentions of keeping this cat – I’m not a cat person and never have been.


But, over the next several weeks, the veterinarian sent us photos of his progress. His story combined with pictures of a healing kitten created cuteness overload. I couldn’t stop the inevitable. My wife and four kids weren’t about to allow Lunchbox to go to another family or the humane society.


You see, he was borne in the “wild.” Since then, he’s yearned for the outdoors; meowing and pawing for something familiar.

***


Years later, I decided I’d had enough of his unrelenting meowing.


During one of his vehement meowing sessions at the windowsill, I approached him and asked, “Ok buddy, you think you can survive on your own out in the world?” He looked at me and gave a meow of agreement.


It was at that moment I decided it was time to let him explore the backyard. I wanted him to realize he was not the lion he imagines. The stray cats, skunks, hawks, snakes, and other dangers were more than he can handle. I didn’t want my little guy to get lost, or worse, killed by some predator higher on the food chain.


But, in my heart, I knew it was time for him to explore a little. The insatiable need to hunt and explore was breaking my heart.


My hope was the trip to the unknown would teach Lunchbox a valuable lesson in humility. So, I opened the door to let him satisfy his thirst for adventure. (Owner-supervised of course)


Immediately after opening the back door, he stood at the doorway for a brief second, then he slowly walked towards the door’s threshold. As he cautiously crept to the door’s edge in a stalking posture — his little nose frantically examining the plethora of new smells, pulsating in and out — the inundation of new sights and smells seemed too overbearing for the little guy.


It took some time (and a little encouragement from me) for Lunchbox to place his little cat-paw across the door’s threshold for the first time.


As gratified as I thought I would feel after showing lunchbox some tough love, I didn’t. As soon as he stepped into the “wild” for the first time, I felt terribly guilty. Guilty, because I suppressed his instinct to hunt and to spread his seed among the female kitties within his domain…even though he can’t because he’s neutered, but still.


To this point, he only extended the boundary of his territory to a 3x3 foot space right outside the door, because as soon as he ventured outside, he got frightened and hid underneath the doorsteps. Apparently, he’s not psychologically equipped to survive in the world yet. 


Lunchbox and I have now developed a routine.


Every weekend we take a trip to the backyard to explore all the sights, sounds, and smells of the “Great wild and unknown” until his senses get overloaded. Each time I pick him up and bring him to safety to try again another day…it’s been a few months.


But, without fail, his instinct to hunt and patrol his domain calls every day.


Meow, Meow….MEOOOOOOW!

February 28, 2023 13:18

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8 comments

Helen A Smith
09:06 Mar 05, 2023

Well told story. Even if you’re not a cat person, it’s surprising how one can grow on you.

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Trevor Woods
12:12 Mar 05, 2023

Thanks. He’s definitely become part of the family!

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Bb B
22:12 Mar 04, 2023

Well done, Trevor. Lunchbox, what a great name! My sister once had a kitten named chicken. I'm not a cat person, either, but this is too cute.

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Trevor Woods
23:00 Mar 04, 2023

Thanks! I’ve grown to enjoy the little guy.

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Wendy Kaminski
17:51 Mar 04, 2023

Oh my gosh, this was so cute, sweet and endearing, Trevor! You may not be a cat person at heart, but you certainly do well at playing one on TV. :) The story was so well done, and I enjoyed it very much – thank you for submitting it, and welcome to Reedsy!

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Trevor Woods
18:18 Mar 04, 2023

Thanks! Lunchbox is still meowing every morning! He’s a beautiful cat. I wish I had a way to share some pictures. Thanks, Wendy.

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Wendy Kaminski
18:20 Mar 04, 2023

There is a way to post them in stories, because Lily Finch does it sometimes, but I don’t know how. However what I do is just post them on imgur.com for free and then put a link in the comments. :-) Reply to this if you are going to share, because I would love to see them and I don’t wanna lose track of it!

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Trevor Woods
18:58 Mar 04, 2023

Awesome! Sounds good, Wendy.

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