Thoughtful Gifts From Socks, The Cat...

By Madame Margherite

Socks: The Gift Giving Cat...

Every morning my mother and I sit on our back porch and chit chat over coffee. A few furry companions chime in from time to time, but one fine fella- Socks- is especially social. He is a handsome, and charming young cat who loves to bring us the occasional gift.
But one morning I made an observation that blew my mother's mind and prompted this study. 

On Tuesday, Socks came dashing down the tightrope of a fence with a maple-like leaf from the neighbor's yard clenched between his teeth. The leaf was big, and had a mixture of green and yellow pigment on it but most importantly it was perfectly intact. 

When he came and dropped it by my Mother's side we praised him, thanked him, scratched his chin, and joked about how much effort he put into selecting such a beautifully, vibrant leaf for her. 

Exhibit B...

One half of cup of coffee later, here comes socks, strolling down the fence- this time with a stem of many leaves between his teeth. When he dropped it by me, Mom and I assumed it was simply an accident in an attempt to drag it all the way to Mom. After all, it was a very long and awkward stem and he had stepped on it many times on his journey with it, so we forgave that it was a few feet shy of Mom's side and had landed closer to me. A gift is a gift and it's the thought that counts, so again we gave the kitty he's due credit. 

On Wednesday morning, Mom and I followed our daily routine, as did Socks. Now, the night before we had experienced some heavy rain so there were many leaves, stems, branches, and flowers readily available on the ground. "Oh the selection" Socks must have thought...

So here he comes, with pride on his face, racing along the fence with a stem in his jowls, similar to the one form the day before and when he got to me he dropped it from his mouth onto my shoulder and sat beside me. There was no question this gift was for me. Now as you could imagine, I was completely taken with flattery as he has never brought anyone but Mom any presents. She's Mom after all, and this was the first gift I had ever received from any cat. I'll admit, I was filled with joy and perhaps blushing a little. Mom and I laughed, smiled, praised Socks with coolie rubs, chin scratches, and pats behind the ears- he was loving it. 

But this is where things got really interesting. The next gift Socks dragged along the fence to us was another large, perfectly intact leaf, this time a dark green one. Not knowing who he would bring it to, Mom and I waited, filled with anticipation... the leaf was for her. 

All throughout the day, Socks brought us beautiful, intact gifts. The next was a stem which he dropped by me, then a leaf which he dropped by Mom. That's when it occurred to me; he's selecting these gifts for each of us specifically- custom presents! He was only bringing me stems of many leaves, and only bringing Mom large, colorful, individual leaves. 

Flabbergasted, we waited to see if this was a coincidence or not, and sure enough, here he comes with another stem, dropping it as he reached me and finally a big yellow leaf he took all the way to Mom. We couldn't believe it. Socks was shopping for gifts the same way you and I would, carefully deciding which item our loved ones would like the most. This one will be for my sister, this one will be for my mother... Sis will like this one, Mom will like that one...

This revelation was shocking! Extremely kind, generous, and flattering, but also shocking. This raises the questions: How does he select these gifts? Why does he decide I will like one kind and Mom will like another? And finally, what does he think we will do with all these leafy gifts? 

Resting after a long day of work...

Well, what I did was photograph them and write an article about the gift giving cat, now, that is love and appreciation! But please, no autographs; Socks hasn't got any thumbs and can't hold a pen to sign with...

Peace,

--Marg (Mom and Socks)

Photos Courtesy of Angela Lynch