On the edge of my property in Richmond Virginia, a swamp teems with life. Moss hangs like primordial ooze off the bald cypress, and water ash trees. Water fowl, birds, squirrels, raccoons and beavers consider this place their sanctuary. Inadvertently, many critters find their way to my sanctuary as well. As they arrive, they are greeted with tidbits I leave out for them. My belief lies with those who think that any kindness extended toward these “outside critters” brings along with the act, a spiritual prosperity. In 2001, the natural animals gave way to another critter not indigenous to the swamplands. A critter that blew in with a fierce snowstorm, and upon arriving, changed my life.  The storm arrived with a vengeance, bringing freezing temperatures and gusting winds. The winds rattled my window panes, seeking out additional victims to cover in bone-chilling cold. I first noticed the kitten when it appeared at the window. Peering longingly at the warmth, its fearful eyes caught mine. Slowly I edged toward the window, wanting only to rescue this creature. The porch light illuminated this little waif, revealing its appalling condition. The kitten was bone-thin,  and scruffy Sludge and muck blended onto black and grey fur. Perhaps it had wrestled a mud creature to gain access to my porch. The fur matted together in a sticky goop. I could not tell where the fur began and the mud started! I raced to the kitchen to find some food, but by the time I got back to the front door, the kitten was gone.  In the hopes the kitten would return, I set the food down on the porch, and kept vigil by my window. Pretty soon, I gave up my mission and headed upstairs.  The next evening the kitten returned. Limping badly, it made its way straight for the food. I observed a flap of skin hanging over a bite wound on its leg. I knew I had to do something, so I approached him slowly. Due to his consuming hunger and weakened state, the kitten allowed me to get close. Using an old towel, I scooped the tiny creature up. It was a boy!  And I brought him inside. He lay quietly as I cleaned his wound, understanding perhaps that my mission involved helping him. When I finished cleaning his leg, I scouted up a large vinyl basket and placed some soft bedding inside. Setting the basket out on the porch well out of the wind, I watched as the kitten hobbled his way directly to the basket and jumped inside. He laid there waiting until I covered him. He stayed in that basket for two days, until I finally carried him inside and put him in the downstairs bathroom. I decided to call him Harvey.

Harvey became our sole housecat for a year, and during that time, he developed quite a personality. He adored being picked up and would wrap his big paws around my neck and nuzzle my chin in greeting.

 

Harvey grew into a sleek, healthy male. We had him neutered and he developed a sturdy build with a short tail. His long legs, big paws and other physical features would assist him in a positive way, as you will soon learn. He earned the name of Harvey The Entertainer  when PEOPLE Magazine came to do a photo shoot with my creative partner, Dika Newlin, ( an 80 year old female punk rocker) Harvey stole center stage by climbing up on Dika and wrapping himself around her neck like an expensive stole. He stayed there as flashbulbs popped around him, perfectly content to bask in his moment of fame. He knew that he had captured yet another musician’s heart. Being a musician myself, I own an extensive collection of guitars. I play almost every night. One evening while in the kitchen with my 7-string Gibson Kramer, I noticed

Harvey sitting at the doorway looking in my direction. Pointing the guitar at him, I asked jokenly, “Care to try? To my amazement, he came over and hopped on the table. The guitar was lying right in front of him. Tentatively he reached over with his paw and plucked a few tines. Elated, I propped the guitar up sideways on a stand and watched in complete amazement as he reached over to pluck a few more tines! When he stopped, I picked up his toy mouse from the floor nearby and held it in different positions on the bar.

Harvey would reach out to grab the mouse, but instead hit the strings. He was making music, and he seemed to really enjoy the feel of the music. We began weekly jam sessions, one human, and one feline, until a year later when another half-frozen kitten showed up at my door.

 It was the winter of 2002, the wind was blowing and blew a kitten onto my porch! At first, I thought it was a leaf, but where it landed, it was out of the wind, and it was trembling. Carefully, I made my way to the tiny form, and bent to scoop it up. But, the kitten scooted off into the darkness. Concerned, I went to the kitchen and got the newcomer a bowl of warm food. Setting it on the porch, I backed away into the house, than stood by the window waiting. Minutes later, the black ball appeared and began to eat. I decided to call the kitten Onyx and for two days, Onyx and I resided together in an uneasy alliance. This time

Providence brought me a female. Onyx allowed me about three feet from her. She ate the food that I offered and made her home on top of a pillow I gave her.

 What became evident to me was that she needed some place safe to shelter the storms, so I went out and bought her a plastic doghouse, and placed it on the spot she normally slept. Then I retreated back into the house, keeping watch. Pretty soon, she came creeping up, climbed inside and vanished in the shadows.  I went to bed that night, confident that she would be warm and safe.  When I came down in the morning, I peeked outside and saw she was still sleeping. Taking a chance, I walked outside and she didn’t move. As I looked closer, I saw she was barely breathing! I reached in and grabbed her (expecting her to bite).She was barely a whisper in my hands. I carried her inside to the bathroom, where I washed her face off, and cleaned her nose. Within five minutes Onyx the Pygmy Pet started acclimating to the warmth of the house. Her motor started and she rolled on her back, kicking her soft black paws in the air at me. After finding out she had bronchitis, I started her on a two-week course of antibiotics and kept her in the house with us.  When

Harvey finally got a close-up view of her, there was instant acceptance. She ran up to him and they nuzzled, the look in his eyes was priceless. Ever since that first meeting, I have referred to Onyx as ”

Harvey’s kitten.”

 Early on, both cats showed an unusual interest in music and the guitars. I would play a guitar in front of them, setting the instrument on a stand leaning next to a chair. Onyx would watch while

Harvey plucked the strings, or she would sit next to me and chase my fingers as I played. One night, she walked over to a chair and started playing the guitar next to it. Using her claws, she produced such haunting music it shocked me to the point I spilled my coffee. Her soul must be connected to a  musician of years past, for to this day,  she will sit by the guitar and play the instrument with her teeth. Much like Jimi Hendrix used to do.

 One night, while watching the two of them “play” I decided to hook up the two guitars directly into a Phillips Music CD Recorder and digitally record my cats’ musical muses. Word of my incredible band started spreading, and in April of 2003 a reporter from the Richmond Times Dispatch appeared at my studio. He observed my cats playing the guitars which prompted him to report the following: “They seem to be musical, especially a kitten who plucks a guitar apparently with some understanding of what’s going on.” 

Watching these two cats chasing music and playing runs, I decided to name the band “2  Real Catz”.  Their first CD “MUSIC 4 CATZ (& KITTENZ)”  is considered  a feline meditation collection. Onyx went on to record a solo CD “THE LONELY KITTEN” which appeals to one’s softer side.  With many hours of original cat recordings completed, we have a lot of material available from which to draw on. I have recently renamed this band “Hiss-Hop” With the help for a friend by the name of Gee Pee (a DJ who spins previously recorded cat tracks behind the cats) this completes Hiss-Hop as the first true inter-species band. These recording sessions, completed during the winter of 2003, were produced at my own 2 Loud! Records Studios (under the musical direction of Dika Newlin). The first Hiss-Hop CD is “Pawz 4 the Clawz” which was followed up by a live concert (from my living room) that produced the  CD “Scratch N Hop” to celebrate the first day of Spring.            

Harvey and Onyx are currently working on a new 2 Real Catz CD to be called “Outside Petz” that will be completed later this year.  Onyx is working on some new compositions.  Their music is unique, exotic, mesmerizing and soothing to listen to. Labeling this music is difficult for it falls between traditional meditation music and easy techno. Playing these CD’s back to my cats produces a strange, tranquil effect on them, even if they are hyperactive. They both blew into my life on the tail of  a blizzard and took my heart and my home by storm. I feel truly blessed to have these gentle souls sharing my life. Their music guides them it directs their souls.