TigerTale Journal

There's a reason for the names.

TigerTale Journal: Because she loves to twist the Tiger's tail.

Wadena: It's where she was found. I found Wadena alone in a thick and tangled pine forest in Wadena County.

She was loudly calling for a mama who either had a new litter of kittens or had maybe been a split second too slow when the softly flying Horned Owl came to call in the moonlight.

Wild cats in a wild place.

With all the noise Wadena was making......it was only a matter of time before a fox or coyote would come and have her for lunch. Luckily, I arrived first.

Understand that Wadena, though tiny and vulnerable.....WAS a proud, independent and totally undomesticated feline.

Wadena was quite sure who her mama was and it obviously wasn't me. I had to chase her down (which would have been impossible had she not kept up her complaining and allowed me to find her again every time she vanished in the brush).

So I carried her home. It was lucky that it was a cold morning and I was wearing heavy gloves, because she wanted to end our relationship and was using her excellent claws for traction. It took her some time to forgive me for the indignity of this capture and for the additional insult of such undignified transport. She was obviously sure that she could make it alone out there in the woods.

She slowly became a reluctant part of the family. We had three other cats. Being (in her mind) a temporary resident, Wadena wiled away the hours until such time as she could escape. She killed time by scientifically driving our other cats to distraction.

Taking ownership of tail tips was only one of the ways she accomplished this. She showed her wild heritage by exhibiting great intelligence and ingenuity, and many were her tactics--the ambush, the blow-your-doors-off close scamper and the sudden pounce without mercy were just a few.

But her favorite was twisting the tiger's tail.

I'm sure we'll be twisting some tails as we move through the blogosphere together.....she has forgiven me and our lives are now inextricably intertwined. We are now embarked on a literary mission for truth and social justice and the pursuit of elusive cursors.

She, radical cat that she is, comes up with all the ideas. Me? I just type.