2:43 AM.

Why am I awake this early in the morning?  More importantly, why did I awake so abruptly?  I sleep soundly, but I also remain aware of what’s going on around me and wake at the slightest discrepancy.  A noise.  A movement.  Sometimes only because I have the impression that something is amiss.  It’s my natural alarm that has always served me well in the past.  So why did it go off at 2:43 in the morning?

I look around the bedroom through wide-open eyes and see all of The Kids scattered about.

Kazon is on the pillow next to my face staring at me blankly.  He too wonders why I’m awake at this hour, and he also believes, since I’m awake, that I should not hesitate to pet him.  So I do while continuing to take stock of my environment in an attempt to identify what caused me to rise from the depths of slumber.

Grendel and Kako are curled together in the middle of the bed next to my waist.  Kako is staring at me intently also trying to fathom why I am conscious at this hour.  Grendel only briefly notices me before going back to sleep.

Loki is the only one not on the bed.  He’s sitting next to the patio door looking outside.  I focus on him for a moment, and then I follow his gaze out to the patio.

Could there be some wildlife in the area finishing off last night’s dinner?  Perhaps they made some noise while eating and I awoke in response.  If the last raccoon party of three is any indication, I might even have heard a scuffle break out between the diners given how loud and violent they can get.

A sudden movement catches my eye.  It’s a dark form milling about just outside the fence.  And then I see another, not as dark even in the shadows, who likewise is near the first dark form on the other side of the fence.  I recognize both immediately.

The living shadow of the first creature is Vazra.  I focus on him momentarily.  How odd that he’s here this early in the morning.  His schedule is like clockwork: always here between 5 and 6 in the morning.  Worry overtakes me with tremendous speed.  Is something wrong with him?  Is he hurt?  What caused him to arrive at this hour?

So I turn my attention to the other form moving slowly just a yard (a meter) away from him, and I immediately recognize it is the presumed female Larenti that more and more follows Vazra in the mornings and indulges me by having a bite to eat.  She still is not clear on how to respond to me.  She is, after all, more feral than her friend.  Despite her fear and uncertainty, however, she does talk to me and responds when I talk to her, and she also will eat the food I put outside the fence for her.  There are times when I sincerely believe she asks me for something to eat.  Seeing her with Vazra is not a surprise as I have mentioned before, but again I am forced to ponder why both are here so early in the morning.  This has never happened before.

I rise out of bed and slip on a pair of shorts.  Before I can take a step toward the doors, Vazra leaps atop the fence and drops down the other side onto the patio.  I move toward him as he moves toward me.  Having reached the door, I unlock it, open it, and step outside to the happy feline greetings on the other side.

That’s good.  Vazra sounds fine.  At least, he certainly doesn’t sound wounded.

“Why are you here so early?” I ask with no expectation of a coherent answer, although often I wish I could more clearly understand the outside cats as well as I understand The Kids.  Experience.  That’s the difference.

Vazra rubs against my legs and meows affectionately.  The other cat also speaks a few times in that dishearteningly lonely way she often does.

I reach down and pet my Persian friend while continuing to talk to both of them.  In return, Vazra purrs contentedly, gives me several love bites, and continues to rub against me and talk with joy.  I kneel down and give him plenty of attention.  In the meantime, the other cat has come closer and is also talking.  How I wish she trusted me more.  Perhaps with time…

After several minutes of Vazra soaking up as much attention as he could get with conversation filling the air between the three of us, I stand and promise an immediate return.  I rush back inside and grab fresh food and water for them.  As usual, Vazra meets me at the door and talks and rubs as I carry the bowls out to the patio.  I mentally note how wonderful it is that I can still hear him purring with tremendous glee.

I set the bowls down in the middle of the patio, and then I grab a small handful of food while Vazra digs in.  The other cat is still asking a question I do not yet understand, although I believe at this point that she is asking for a meal, something I dutifully provide by placing some food outside the fence.  The moment I take a few steps back, she moves in and begins eating.

3:00 AM.

Why am I outside feeding the neighborhood cats when I could be inside sleeping?  The answer is simple: because I wouldn’t be able to sleep while they are out here asking for a bit to eat and some water to wash it down.

Both cats eat heartily with much crunching, and Vazra requests — and receives — more attention after he has his fill of food and drink.  The other cat finishes most of the food and immediately begins talking again.  It is that persistent question, that undeniable cry of aloneness.  I wish she trusted me more than she does.

Vazra decides it’s time to go and leaps the fence with ease.  He hops down on the other side and walks comfortably away from me.  The other cat follows him without skipping a beat in her conversation.

I, on the other hand, go back inside and climb back into bed.  Because I know opossums and raccoons will be back through this area before dawn, I take the food and water back inside for safekeeping.

4:33 AM.

Again I wake up, and again I see Vazra on the patio (I do not see the female cat this time, but that does not mean she isn’t out there somewhere close).

In what is a very new development, Vazra is sleeping on the patio.  I do not know where he normally sleeps.  That means seeing him there is an odd thing and beckons to me for action, but I do not wish to disturb him.  He is curled comfortably against the wall directly outside the bedroom windows.  All I need do is roll over and look out to see him there.  I decide not to get up this time and instead go back to sleep.

5:18 AM.

I am again wide-awake, so I look out to the patio and do not see the black Persian where he was sleeping before, so I squirm a bit to get a better look at the rest of the patio.  I find him curled up in the middle of the concrete floor.  He’s sleeping soundly and I do not even get out of bed, but more and more I am curious about this scenario and how it is playing out.  It is a new experience.  And again, I feel a tinge of guilt at not doing something for Vazra, but I can not as yet bring him inside and I dare not disturb him lest I give up the rest of my morning.  So I go back to sleep.

6:02 AM.

The tap-tap-tap of feline claws on the windows wrests me from sleep.  There stands Vazra on the other side of the door.  The instant I move, he meows and looks at me intently.  At this point, there’s no need to think I will get any more sleep, and the last several hours have been anything but restful, so I rise from bed, get more food and water, and step outside for our normal morning routine.  Again he takes his fill of sustenance, washes it down with a healthy drink of water, and requests and receives plenty of attention.  His female friend is not present this time, but I will see her again.

[on a related note, I’ve been unable to capture Vazra; he does not react well to the pet carrier despite my efforts to acclimate him to it; that makes me wonder about his past; irrespective, my efforts continue in that regard so I can get him to the vet and the groomer; depending on his health status, he may well become the official fifth member of The Kids — assuming my plan actually works out; and another thing: it might be time to come up with a name for the female cat; it would certainly help when writing about her, especially if she’s going to continue coming around as much as she has been (at least daily with Vazra); any ideas?]