Surrogate cats

Copyright 2006 Lydia Hinshaw

SKAGWAY, AK -- Wandering the streets here, we always keep an eye out for cats. We've spotted only five so far. This is dog country with a definite preference for husky types, who are often seen riding in the backs of pickup trucks, or tied up outside local watering holes.
The cat above, named Tommy according to his young human playmate, was on a porch near the street as we walked the 10 blocks to downtown a few days ago. He is a well-fed animal with the solid build of the Queen, our regally haughty and bad-tempered pseudo-Maine-coon-cat who is angrily awaiting our return to Ormond Beach.
Tommy was a lot friendlier, however, and allowed us to fuss over him a bit. He even tilted his head in this special pose for us.
Just up the dirt street from our little cabin is another black and white feline, a boy name Sebastian. His owner says he customarily socializes only with his own humans, but he came out to shed some cat-hair on Prince Charming's jeans one day a couple of weeks ago and now we look for him whenever we pass by.
We've been away from home almost two months now, and truly miss the nightly snuggles from the Princess, who has become close friends with our house-sitter, as we knew she would. We are trying not to be jealous. And we are hoping there will be no "free kittens" ads posted at the post office or supermarket this summer.