Cats I have Known: Wilfred
Our family loves cats. We've kept them for some years now, first starting when we moved into our current place of residence. It's a big farmhouse in the country. We have two acres of land and a big shop in the back. I thought I'd catalog some cats I've had in the past, and their personalities.
The first is Wilfred. Wilfred was a big cat, wide and square. His fur was brindle and puffed out, making him appear even bigger than he was. When he appeared, (we often get strays), it was hopelessly matted. Filled with burs from one end to the other. We couldn't hope to untangle it, so he had to go to the vet for a shave and a haircut, as it were. While there, on the exam table, the vet noticed a tick. Then another, and another. We removed more than a dozen more ticks that had attached themselves to him. He went under anaesthesia and was shaved. Now, a vet is a very good vet, but a very poor barber. When he came back he was a pathetic looking creature. All the clumps where gone, but the cut was by no means even and he had random tufts sticking higher than others. Fortunately, cats are not great connoiseurs of fashion. He would have to live with his mottled appearance.
I have found, in my time, that after such treatment a cat is usually somewhat annoyed by the experience. He certainly had that look on his face afterwards. We gave him flea medicine, and he began to improve. He was one of those cats that was in the category of none-too-bright. He was big, dumb and goofy. Loved being petted. I don't recall him being much for playing. When you picked him up, he would just drape himself over you and purr. It's been some time since he was around, several years at least. We do lose cats regularly. They are lost to the road in front of our house, and to the pernicious predation of local wildlife.
You never choose who is lost to these forces, and sometimes the cats that have terrible personalities live for years while a dozen wonderful, cuddly ones die. It's a tradeoff, really. It's hard to keep them inside, and they love being outdoors. It is their natural habitat, and this end is a part of their natural existence. We have not as yet sought to deny them access to the wild. Whether this is wise or not can probably be debated. But, I don't think we signed up for keeping them inside. We signed up to share our lives with cats, living as cats. Going outdoors and hunting birds and mice are a part of that package.