Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings: 11/12/10

Alexander of Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin, is a young tom, a completely ordinary cat with a wanderlust. He grows up believing that the world ends at the gate as it's the farthest he can see from the window.

As so many young cats do, Alexander finds his way outside and begins to explore. Along the way he's nearly run over by a truck and is scared up a tree. It is while he's up the tree that he's befriended by the Catwings.

Alexander poses an interesting problem for the catwings. He's the first non-winged cat they've seen since leaving their mother in the City. He though quickly becomes part of their extended family.

Alexander reminds me of a cat who adopted my grandmother twenty five years ago. We had just come back from watching Oliver & Company when there was this orange tom sitting by the front entry way as if he belonged there. My grandmother was a cat person, she already had a couple in door cats. This one didn't appear to be interested in becoming an in door cat but he did make it clear that he had claimed her yard as his new home.

Since he looked like Oliver in the Disney movie, we named him Oliver. The next day he showed up with a young female cat, a beauty with long white and brown fur. We named her "And Company" which quickly got shortened to "Anne."

Just like Alexander who had a home near by, Oliver and Anne were from a house a couple doors up the street. They just weren't happy there. Their original owners did stop by eventually and said "oh, so that's where you've got to," and left it at that. They never asked for their cats back.

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