Protection Money

Back in 2006, when Syd was new on the job, you could tell that he was happy with the new place. One methodical inspection of every corner of the house, one cursory sniff of Gondi's butt (the other cat). food, water -- check! and Syd was ready for a nap in the new place. That night when I went to bed, he slammed himself up against me, and started purring, and we all fell asleep.

The following morning, i woke up to the cold wet caress of a kitchen sponge left lying near the pillow. Now, why did he do that? We soon found out that Syd was no ordinary cat. He had defined a rigorous list of duties for himself. There was so much responsibility on the work orders he made out for himself. All those boxes, in all the rooms - they all had to be licked! And rubber bands - they are one of Syd's duties. All of them have to be moved to the bottom step. And there's barely enough time to do it in a day and still get one's required sleep.

But, here in the new world, there is always food and water. The Humane Society told us that Syd had been picked up as a stray. When he tried to drink water out of the toilet, we showed him the water dish. Unbelievably cool and juicy. Beats toilet water every time! He seemed so grateful to have his own water supply. And the other cat, Gondi, although a real sissy, still, he could be accommodated.

And so, to reward those who had given him such a life, or perhaps he figured "protection tribute" was due to maintain his new position. He brought us gifts. And since he didn't have much money, he brought us things he found. A kitchen sponge. And to give it that extra "Syddiness" he dipped it in the water dish on the way.

In the following days we received other Syd treats in the morning - a tea bag, a grapefruit rind, and something else he found in the garbage disposal that we didn't know what it was. We are thankful that he found out that he didn't have to bribe us to maintain 'the good life'. After about a week, the gifts stopped, but he still loves us all.


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