The Evening Meow

In that classic movie, Lady and the Tramp, the dogs in London have a cool way to get news around the neighborhoods. They call it "The Twilight Bark." Each "edition" of this listenable newspaper includes tidbits of news from Kensington to Knightsbridge to Chelsea and beyond, passed along by a chain of loyal “subscribers” who bark the latest info over fences and down alleyways, where it's picked up and echoed by the next canine courier.

Well, I think news of Win and Frankie's kitty handouts may have reached our local edition of "The Evening Meow." It started when their friend -- formerly Name TBD, now called Little Buddy -- started coming around once every few days for a snack. He's show up at the sliding glass door and The Boyz would leap off the kitty tree or, if upstairs, bound down the stairs at my call of "Hey, kids, your little buddy is here!" I'd slip out a small portion of kibbles and Frank and Win would meow in a friendly manner -- sometimes even pat at the window in greeting. With time, the frequency of his visits moved from every few days to once a day, to a couple of times a day. But he's welcome, and he knows it.

I suspect, though, that he has been spreading the word. Yesterday, I noticed a large grey-stripped tabby lingering hopefully outside the door. Today, a grey-and-white partial Persian made an appearance, peering into the bowl with an expectant expression. I figure Little Buddy has passed the word around: "Hey, there’s good eatin’ at the house on the corner with the tall trees in front!"

Any day now, I expect to open the drapes to find a queue of kitties waiting courteously for their victuals. With that in mind, I'd best go to the store now and restock the pantry. After all Little BuddIES don't want to find an empty bowl. :)