Little Cat Lost

Poor Lucie is feeling rather put out - we have a new arrival on the scene. Appearing completely out of the blue one day with a beseeching expression upon his face came Monty. A long-haired tortoiseshell-white calico cat, strikingly marked and very well behaved he asked for nothing, but made it clear that he had nowhere else to go.

Sitting on the doorstep he politely waited to see if he was welcome inside and when initially the invitation was not forthcoming, he did not persist but just sat on the step with a sad resigned expression on his little face.

Ever the soft hearted where cats are concerned, I put a plate of food out for him. Monty fell upon the food and within seconds it was gone. He then resumed his place upon the doorstep and waited patiently.

Convinced that such a lovely cat as Monty must belong to someone and was possibly lost, I designed a lost and found poster with a photo of him to display in the local shops. A call came a week later from a very nice lady who lived in a neighbouring village some 8 miles away. She knew Monty well as he lived two doors away from her and would visit her every morning at the same time. Not knowing his real name she called him Cat. When she hadn't seen him for several days the nice lady questioned Monty's owner about his whereabouts. The owners reply was a blasé, "Oh! I gave him away - I didn't want him anymore!"

So it turns out that poor Monty is unwanted, homeless and hungry. Too well-bred to hunt he was famished when I first found him sitting outside my front door. At first I kept my resolve and refused to succumb to his silent request for a home and although I fed him it was always outside. However the weather has taken a turn for the worse and after finding him huddled on the doorstep on a particularly miserable evening I broke my resolve and brought him indoors.

Lucie was overcome with horror and appalled by his intrusion into her domain she could do nothing except sit and sulk, staring at him in disbelief and resentment. Monty was oblivious and within seconds had found the old rocking chair where he snuggled up on the cushion and fell into a deep slumber.

A Sulky Lucie

Lucie continued to eye him balefully, emitting large sighs and snorts of disgust. Safe, warm and comfortable, Monty slept the entire night and despite spending the next day outside he was there waiting hopefully the next evening on the doorstep.

The rocking chair has become his refuge and although he is content to be petted for a short while, Monty prefers to be allowed to sleep in peace upon the cushion. 

Monty asleep on the rocking chair

Thus it looks like Lucie is going to have to accept that she has a new companion because I don’t think Monty has any intention of seeking a home elsewhere and I certainly don’t have the heart to ignore his plight.

I have since found out that almost all calico cats are female – and for a calico cat to be a male is a rarity. Apparently calico cats originate from the Mediterranean ports in France and are believed to bring good luck - sometimes they are referred to as money cats. So it is highly likely then that Monty is not a boy after all, in which case a new name will have to be chosen. I think a French name is appropriate – Minou seems to suit her.

After several hours of Minou I made a discovery that Minou is indeed a rarity and is most definitely a boy. As I lifted him up the additional two little furry extras underneath reaffirmed that Minou is a he. So now I am in a dilemma - do I revert to Monty or given that I have found out about his French origins - should he be called by a more French sounding name, perhaps Monet as in the painter Claude Monet? After all as I mentioned before Calico Cats are referred to as money cats - so Monet seems to fit well and it can be either a male or a female name. However Monty has a nice ring to it and it could be short for Montague which is an old French surname.

What do you think, Monet or Monty?