Feral Cats

Maui is replete with feral cats and jungle fowl, aka chickens.  What is so interesting, especially about the cats, is that if put side by side with my house cat, you wouldn't be able to tell me which is feral and which is used to human touch.   There are several important differences between the feral cats of Maui and my fat cat at home, however.  These include flees, worms, ticks, rabies, mange, and a plethora of other parasites and diseases.  In the event that you get close enough to touch one of these cute kitties, you might also obtain a fun new skin disease or bowel-resident.

I have known a few people in my life thus far that induce similar health problems when I've gotten too close.  They are the type of people that hide their sandpaper tongues and retractable claws beneath beautiful smiles, saying all of the right things, pretending to listen with care.  Usually it is too late by the time that I have noticed that I have caught their disease- a disease of the mind.  Their negativities have infiltrated my head like a poison and cause the soft pink folds of my brain to turn black.  These negativities have become symptoms that leak from my mouth like oil and coat all of the beauty in my life with sludge.  These negativities, like worms, like ticks, take special care and attention to remove but the trick is to first notice them and acknowledge their existence.  Who would think they have worms?  Who would think their thoughts are degenerative?  Who wants to admit they have fleas?  Who wants to admit that their thoughts have become the source of awkward silences, hurtful slandering, and severing of friendships?  Just like parasites and disease, this influence of negativity is hard to detect and much harder to accept as a real problem.  But once discovered, meaningful steps can be taken in the right direction to eradicate them.

I felt a desire to touch these cats, but I knew better.  My siblings, on the other hand, needed continuous reminding not to get too close.  The day will come when their innocence has transformed to an unfortunate knowledge, understanding, and appreciation for keeping the masked creatures of this world just out of reach.