Relay: Putter And Summer Revisited
Putter, a male cat who may not have made it, and Summer, Putter’s sister, a shy, small, not-much-of-a-cat’s cat, have both blossomed into Disney movie-like caricatures — possibly, someday, attaining cat-legend status in the Cats Hall of Fame, East Hampton, N.Y.
Putter, a scatterbrained, uncoordinated scaredy-cat, a loose cannon, at times emotionally deranged, a falling-from-beam, running-into-wall type cat, a cat destined for cat heaven at a young age. An indoor cat, a cat who would go into deep hiding at the hint of any housecleaning; later, at cleaning’s end, Putter would wobble out of some back hidden section of a remote closet, his demeanor not unlike the human type you see coming out of Rowdy Hall during German Beer Fest Week, after having imbibed too many pints of beer at 11 on Friday night.
Putter was not a good cat! He was not a very friendly cat! He was not a smart cat! Destiny’s bad door was closing in on poor Putter the cat.
Upon being stuck outside his home, Putter would raise a shrill whine that could wake a demon. Then, a door or window was left open: Behold . . . a cannon-shot cat flying through door or open window at breakneck speed, headed for a lengthy hideout somewhere deep in a back closet, or places unknown.
Putter despised the outdoors, cared for nothing beyond the confines of his small home. Putter was beyond a homebody cat: He was slightly psycho.
Summer the female cat: much the same. Not much of a cat. Not interesting, not friendly, not exciting, did not meow much. The cat did not purr often, eat a lot, run around a lot, did not go outside. This was a classic case of a boring East Hampton cat! Not as crazy as her brother, Summer seemed destined to live a long, unadventurous life indoors, away from farm mice, mole, or rabbit.
What happened to Putter and Summer the cats?
Their cat food was changed some years ago to Friskies Surfin’ & Turfin’ Favorites from a more expensive dry cat food with a fancy name and claims to health and vitality. The transformation began slowly, with antics that may go down in East Hampton cat history. After a year on the Surfin’ & Turfin’ diet, events as such took place: Summer spent days following a giant tired bumblebee that had flown inside. As the bumblebee wearied, Summer attacked, pinning it to a wooden floor and eating it in small bites, each bite showing a cat face of “Wow, triple-X hot sauce.”
Her coat darkened and lightened, her nose became prettier and a square shamrock shape. Summer became a friendlier cat! Summer became a super-clean cat, cleaning herself all day sometimes. Summer is now a nice cat, with cat expressions saying, “Like, get lost, pal, I’ve got bugs and bees to hunt. Where’s my brother, Putter . . . he’s gonna help.”
Putter, after his diet change to Friskies Surfin’ & Turfin’, turned to wild adventure. A beautiful female human guest on the lawn enjoying a glass of Bordeaux wine was asked, “Have you seen Putter?” as early winter night fell. A minute later a giant rabbit ran by, 12 paces away, heading for deep cover in the close-by field. Moments later a streak of a cat resembling Putter ran by, sort of in that direction. Shortly after, an unidentified cat with primarily darkish black markings zoomed by. Putter was having fun with a rabbit and a stray neighborhood cat at the same time. An hour later Putter strolled into the house as if saying, “No big deal, just another Friday cat night.”
Putter’s antics with his 5-year-old male human cousin are quickly becoming household legend. The summertime question arises, “Where’s Santiago?” The fear of Putter badly scratching Santiago: ever present. Yet, miracles happen! Little cousin Santiago Morgan has tamed the beast and is walking around with the cat in a full bear hug, cat legs dangling and all.
Putter seems calm, collected, a super-cool cat ready for anything 5-year-old Santi can dish out. Other encounters with Santi include cat-tail pulling, crawling under bed to harass cat, Santiago using a yellow marker to paint a stripe on Putter’s back — Santiago’s bad little boy behavior gets no reaction at all from Putter the cat.
Of course, little pieces of leftover Iacono chicken are added to Putter’s and Summer’s Friskies Surfin’ & Turfin’ Favorites dry cat food. Striped bass is also added to the mix when family friend Garry is fishing and has extra to give away. Occasionally the two cats get a bit of milk. They dip their respective paws in and lick their feet for hours. Both cats drink a lot of tap water from a bowl.
Don’t think for a minute these are sissy cats. Beware these cats’ claws! Morgan Jr. is neglectful of his claw-trimming duties. After all, he is the owner of the cats. They look like fun cats. They are nice-looking, wonderfully marked cats who run up and down floorboards and furniture. However, a reminder to those who encounter Putter and Summer: They were born feral cats under an East Hampton house. Until their claws are cut and they have aged a bit more in cat years, best to give them room to be cats.
You can try as you might to take the wild, adventuresome cat out of an East Hampton cat! Occasionally that just does not work.
Morgan McGivern is The Star’s staff photographer.