Je suis amoureuse d\u2019un chat et je ferais n\u2019importe quoi pour qu\u2019il soit \u00e0 moi! Nous nous sommes rencontr\u00e9s chez une amie qui voulait me parler d\u2019un audacieux projet, mais mes yeux ne regardaient que cet immense chat blanc. Juste \u00e0 le sentir fr\u00f4ler mes chevilles, un tsunami d\u2019amour envahissait l\u2019int\u00e9rieur de ma poitrine. Mon c\u0153ur battait la chamade et mon esprit s\u2019entrem\u00ealait de non et de oui; je veux ce merveilleux chat!<\/p>\n
Tilou, ce magnifique chat blanc au front tachet\u00e9 de noir, me fixait sans cesse et, sous mes pieds, le plancher tremblait. Comme par expr\u00e8s, l\u2019animal se collait sur moi et ses yeux entraient dans les miens. \u00ab\u00a0Vite, vite, vite!\u00a0\u00bb, se disait ma t\u00eate. O\u00f9 se cache la porte de mon c\u0153ur?<\/p>\n
Monique avait la larme \u00e0 l\u2019\u0153il. Elle souhaitait que l\u2019on discute de son projet et moi je reluquais son chat. Un m\u00e2le mature, d\u00e9griff\u00e9 et doux comme un agneau.
\n\u2014\u00a0Il a douze ans, marmonne Monique.
\n\u2014\u00a0Est-ce vieux pour un chat?
\n\u2014\u00a0C\u2019est un chat de ruelle, il peut vivre jusqu\u2019\u00e0 20\u00a0ans.<\/p>\n
Huit longues ann\u00e9es de bonheur, pensa mon c\u0153ur. Je n\u2019ai jamais eu d\u2019animal de compagnie. Lorsque mes petits en voulaient, je leur sugg\u00e9rais d\u2019attraper une souris! \u00ab\u00a0Affreuse maman!\u00a0\u00bb, disait le plus vieux.<\/p>\n
Ce sont les chats qui attrapent les souris. Je me souviens d\u2019un d\u00e9m\u00e9nagement en banlieue avec des chats errants qui emplissaient notre paillasson de souris. Un jour d\u2019automne, nous avons adopt\u00e9 le chien d\u2019un voisin qui retournait en ville et les enfants ont saut\u00e9 de joie. Ils le caressaient, le peignaient, le nourrissaient et Bobby dormait au pied du lit du plus vieux. Puis leur sp\u00e9culateur de p\u00e8re vendit la maison \u00e0 une famille de quatre enfants qui pleuraient pour garder le chien. Comme nous retournions dans le ghetto grec de la grande ville de Montr\u00e9al (Outremont, \u00e0 cette \u00e9poque), ils gard\u00e8rent Bobby et ce sont mes enfants qui pleur\u00e8rent en retournant en ville.<\/p>\n
Arriv\u00e9s \u00e0 destination, nous vivions dans un troisi\u00e8me \u00e9tage avec un petit balcon et sa vue sur les fonds de cours. Le plus vieux avait pris l\u2019habitude de lancer des miettes et des rognures de fruits aux \u00e9cureuils, se faisant un devoir de bien les nourrir.<\/p>\n
Je me souviens comme si c\u2019\u00e9tait hier d\u2019un samedi apr\u00e8s-midi o\u00f9 je devais pr\u00e9parer un baklava pour la f\u00eate de la belle-m\u00e8re et voil\u00e0 que, sans r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir, mon intr\u00e9pide jeune fils s\u2019empare du m\u00e9lange d\u2019amandes et de noix de Grenoble pour nourrir ses gentils \u00e9cureuils. Le temps d\u2019un \u00e9clair, cinq ou six comparses \u00e0 longues queues touffues faisaient la f\u00eate sur le balcon et moi je pleurais.<\/p>\n
Nous changions souvent de logis. Trop de blattes nocturnes \u00e0 chasser, trop d\u2019enfants bruyants, trop de marches \u00e0 monter avec carrosse et b\u00e9b\u00e9. J\u2019avais souvent l\u2019impression d\u2019escalader l\u2019Everest trois \u00e0 quatre fois par jour. L\u2019eau coula sous les ponts jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce que se fracasse pour de bon le fragile entendement entre les \u00e9poux. L\u2019homme retourna dans son pays et les enfants all\u00e8rent temporairement chez mes parents. Un splendide Husky sib\u00e9rien les attendait. Ce fut pour moi une immense joie de voir mes petits heureux comme des rois. Ma m\u00e8re les inscrivit \u00e0 l\u2019\u00e9cole du village et je revins \u00e0 Montr\u00e9al pour me trouver un travail.<\/p>\n
Aucun d\u2019eux ne poss\u00e8de aujourd\u2019hui un animal de compagnie. Moi-m\u00eame, avant ce gros chat, je n\u2019ai jamais song\u00e9 \u00e0 me procurer un chien ou un chat. Je n\u2019ai probablement jamais compris pourquoi les gens s\u2019attachent autant. Pourtant, j\u2019entends tr\u00e8s souvent les vieillottes de mon \u00e2ge parler des bienfaits des animaux de compagnie. Oui, oui! Ils m'inciteraient \u00e0 prendre l\u2019air plus souvent, marcher, admirer le paysage et remplir mes poumons de bon air. \u00c0 ce que mes amies me disent, la relation entre un animal et son ma\u00eetre est tr\u00e8s pr\u00e9cieuse. L\u2019animal nous offre un amour inconditionnel. La voisine Margot m\u2019a m\u00eame dit qu\u2019avoir un chien de compagnie lui a grandement permis de tisser des liens avec de nouvelles personnes. Margot se prom\u00e8ne chaque soir sur la rue principale de notre patelin et son chien parle \u00e0 tout le monde.<\/p>\n
Cora
\n\u2764<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Je suis amoureuse d\u2019un chat et je ferais n\u2019importe quoi pour qu\u2019il […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":28272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lettre-mme-cora"],"acf":{"img_en":"","contenu_en":"I\u2019m in love with a cat and I\u2019d be willing to do anything to have him! We met at a friend\u2019s house who was desperately wanted to talk to me about a project, but my eyes were fixated on the big white cat. A tsunami of love burst inside my chest at the simplest touch of his fur against my ankles. My heart was pounding and my thoughts kept clashing: \u201cYes, I want this cat. No, I can\u2019t have a cat!\u201d\r\n\r\nTilou, the amazing white cat with a dark patch of fur like a hat over its ears and forehead, kept staring at me, and the ground fell away from my feet. The feline was rubbing against me on purpose it seemed, his eyes holding my gaze. \u201cQuick, quick!\u201d My mind was saying. Where is the door to my heart?\r\n\r\nMy friend was getting teary-eyed. She wanted to discuss her important project and here I was, ogling her cat. A mature male as gentle as a lamb.\r\n\u2014\u201cHe\u2019s 12,\u201d mumbled Monique.\r\n\u2014\u201cIs that old for a cat?\u201d\r\n\u2014\u201cHe\u2019s a stray cat. He could live to be 20.\u201d\r\n\r\nMy heart jumped as I thought to myself \u201c8 long years of happiness!\u201d I\u2019ve never had a pet. When my children clamoured for one, I suggested they try and catch a mouse. \u201cYou\u2019re a horrible mom!\u201d the oldest used to say.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s cats who catch mice. I remember one time when we moved to the suburbs and stray cats covered our doormat with mice. One fall day, our neighbour was moving back to the city and left his dog, Bobby, with us. The kids were jumping up and down. They would pet him, brush his coat and feed him. Bobby slept at the foot of my oldest\u2019s bed. Their father, who never passed up an opportunity to make a quick buck, sold the house to a family with four kids who begged to keep the dog along with the house. Since we were returning to the Greek neighbourhood in Montreal (now Parc Extension), they kept Bobby. My children cried all the way back to the city.\r\n\r\nAt our new home, a third-floor apartment with a small balcony overlooking several backyards, my oldest son took to throwing crumbs and fruit trimmings to the squirrels, dutifully ensuring they were fed well. I remember very clearly one Saturday afternoon when I was about to bake baklava for my mother-in-law\u2019s birthday. Without hesitating, my rascal of a child grabbed the almond and walnut mix to feed the friendly squirrels. In a flash, 5 or 6 \u201cfurriends\u201d with long bushy tails were having the feast of their lives on the balcony while I cried.\r\n\r\nTime and again we moved. Too many cockroaches to chase at night, too many loud kids, too many steps to climb with the stroller and baby. I often felt like I had to climb Mount Everest three or four times each day. Water flowed under the bridge until the fragile understanding between the husband and wife shattered for good. He went back to the old country and the kids went to live with my parents temporarily. A beautiful Siberian husky was waiting for them there. I was overjoyed to see my kids as happy as they were then. My mom registered them at the local school and I came back to Montreal to find work.\r\n\r\nNone of my children own a pet today. I had never even thought of getting a dog or a cat myself before meeting the amazing Tilou. I\u2019ve never really understood why people get so attached to them even if I often hear ladies my age talking about the benefits of pets. An animal would encourage me to go outside more often, walk, admire the landscape and fill my lungs with fresh air. According to my friends, the relationship between an animal and its owner is very precious. Animals give us unconditional love they say. My neighbour Margot even told me that owning a dog has allowed her to meet new people. Margot walks her dog every evening on the village main street, and her dog talks to everyone. No wonder!\r\n\r\nCora\r\n\u2764"},"yoast_head":"\n