The Tale of Mr. Jerry Brown*
Oct. 2nd, 2005 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
missroseroseOnce upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last May, there was a cat by the name of Jerry Brown. He was a very large and regal cat, not young, but not old; he was middle aged, and preferred sitting in a warm lap and being petted to the usual kittenish antics. And he had a beautiful long brown and black and white coat of which he was very proud.
Unfortunately, his human had recently moved and dumped him unceremoniously at the shelter, which, while not a bad place to live, was rather short on warm laps to lie in and kindly humans to pet him. There was a very nice girl who would feed all of the cats there and who would sometimes brush his long, soft, beautiful fur, and there were plenty of other cats for company (most of whom were younger and less dignified than him), but there was no one in whose lap he could jump up whenever he wanted and just be petted and purr and purr.
That's not to say he had no human contact at all. Often humans would come to the shelter and visit with him, and many of them were delighted with his friendliness and his purring. But he began hearing the same two comments over and over - "He's not very active", and "That fur would be a pain to clean up." And invariably the humans would choose another cat, perhaps with shorter fur or who loved to play.
Jerry Brown was very sad. He was very proud of his dignified attitude and even more proud of his beautiful long silky fur coat; yes, he needed help taking care of it (one tongue could only do so much), but wasn't it a grand thing to have a warm cat curled in one's lap on a crisp fall or winter evening? And who could resist a cat who loved everyone, who never caused any trouble, and who would have no problem being a warm happy affectionate furry companion for the rest of his life? Did nobody understand the importance of dignity to a cat of distinguished middle age?
About a month after his admittance at the shelter, he was brought to see a young couple of humans. They were more or less like any number of other young couples he had seen; bright eyed and bushy tailed with lots of love to give to a lucky cat. But there was something about them that Jerry Brown sensed that gave him hope - they understood him. They praised his dignified demeanor and his beautiful long coat, and the young man especially seemed to love holding him in his lap and petting him. They even called him "Mr. Jerry Brown", in deference to his dignified status.
But eventually, they, too, chose another cat, and once more Jerry Brown was left at the shelter, grooming his long beautiful fur smooth in disappointment.
Life went on for several months. Lots of people played with him, and Jerry Brown took every opportunity to be stroked and petted; sometimes he could even imagine for a minute or two that this person would be the one to bring him home and wait on him and pet him whenever he wished. But as the weeks went by, he slowly grew to accept the fact that he would probably live the rest of his life quietly at the shelter. It wasn't so bad there, after all, and the kind girl who fed them seemed to have developed a special fondness for him and brushing his beautiful long multicolored coat.
Then one day, several months later, the girl came and picked him up to take him to visit someone, which was always a pleasant break in the monotony of the day. Much to his surprise, however, the people who had come to visit him were the couple from before, the ones who had understood him! He blinked in surprise, and wondered for a moment if he was perhaps misremembering their smells, when the young woman picked him up and greeted him - "Hello, Mr. Jerry Brown!" He immediately closed his eyes and started purring.
They stayed for a long time, this time, passing him back and forth, petting him, feeding him treats, and telling him what a beautiful cat he was. There were the usual comments going back and forth between them - "It was hard to say 'no' to you the first time, Mr. Jerry Brown..." "But we'll have to vacuum every six hours!" "He needs a good home where people will brush him and pet him a lot and feed him treats" "But we already have one cat..." - but he didn't care, so long as someone was petting him. He had long since resigned himself to living at the shelter, and simply took this opportunity to give as much love to them as he could.
Eventually, of course, they left, and when the kind girl came to put him back in his room, he looked up with just a flicker of hope in his eyes - had the young couple decided to take him home? But no, there was no jubilant expression on her face, just a friendly one, and Jerry Brown allowed himself to be taken back, understanding that it was time to give up dreams of another life and be happy in this one.
And there he waits now, lying on his favorite chair, tail curled around his eyes, trying not to remember the love he felt emanating from that certain young couple...
*based on a true story
Unfortunately, his human had recently moved and dumped him unceremoniously at the shelter, which, while not a bad place to live, was rather short on warm laps to lie in and kindly humans to pet him. There was a very nice girl who would feed all of the cats there and who would sometimes brush his long, soft, beautiful fur, and there were plenty of other cats for company (most of whom were younger and less dignified than him), but there was no one in whose lap he could jump up whenever he wanted and just be petted and purr and purr.
That's not to say he had no human contact at all. Often humans would come to the shelter and visit with him, and many of them were delighted with his friendliness and his purring. But he began hearing the same two comments over and over - "He's not very active", and "That fur would be a pain to clean up." And invariably the humans would choose another cat, perhaps with shorter fur or who loved to play.
Jerry Brown was very sad. He was very proud of his dignified attitude and even more proud of his beautiful long silky fur coat; yes, he needed help taking care of it (one tongue could only do so much), but wasn't it a grand thing to have a warm cat curled in one's lap on a crisp fall or winter evening? And who could resist a cat who loved everyone, who never caused any trouble, and who would have no problem being a warm happy affectionate furry companion for the rest of his life? Did nobody understand the importance of dignity to a cat of distinguished middle age?
About a month after his admittance at the shelter, he was brought to see a young couple of humans. They were more or less like any number of other young couples he had seen; bright eyed and bushy tailed with lots of love to give to a lucky cat. But there was something about them that Jerry Brown sensed that gave him hope - they understood him. They praised his dignified demeanor and his beautiful long coat, and the young man especially seemed to love holding him in his lap and petting him. They even called him "Mr. Jerry Brown", in deference to his dignified status.
But eventually, they, too, chose another cat, and once more Jerry Brown was left at the shelter, grooming his long beautiful fur smooth in disappointment.
Life went on for several months. Lots of people played with him, and Jerry Brown took every opportunity to be stroked and petted; sometimes he could even imagine for a minute or two that this person would be the one to bring him home and wait on him and pet him whenever he wished. But as the weeks went by, he slowly grew to accept the fact that he would probably live the rest of his life quietly at the shelter. It wasn't so bad there, after all, and the kind girl who fed them seemed to have developed a special fondness for him and brushing his beautiful long multicolored coat.
Then one day, several months later, the girl came and picked him up to take him to visit someone, which was always a pleasant break in the monotony of the day. Much to his surprise, however, the people who had come to visit him were the couple from before, the ones who had understood him! He blinked in surprise, and wondered for a moment if he was perhaps misremembering their smells, when the young woman picked him up and greeted him - "Hello, Mr. Jerry Brown!" He immediately closed his eyes and started purring.
They stayed for a long time, this time, passing him back and forth, petting him, feeding him treats, and telling him what a beautiful cat he was. There were the usual comments going back and forth between them - "It was hard to say 'no' to you the first time, Mr. Jerry Brown..." "But we'll have to vacuum every six hours!" "He needs a good home where people will brush him and pet him a lot and feed him treats" "But we already have one cat..." - but he didn't care, so long as someone was petting him. He had long since resigned himself to living at the shelter, and simply took this opportunity to give as much love to them as he could.
Eventually, of course, they left, and when the kind girl came to put him back in his room, he looked up with just a flicker of hope in his eyes - had the young couple decided to take him home? But no, there was no jubilant expression on her face, just a friendly one, and Jerry Brown allowed himself to be taken back, understanding that it was time to give up dreams of another life and be happy in this one.
And there he waits now, lying on his favorite chair, tail curled around his eyes, trying not to remember the love he felt emanating from that certain young couple...
*based on a true story
