Deep in the heart of the forest 72 year old Dereck Mason clears downed limbs and cleans up around the cabin he built thirty years ago but he says he couldn’t do it without the help of his six-pound coworker, Princess, a rescued tabby who spent five weeks in a small cage at the animal shelter before being adopted by Mason who never planned to own a cat. “I was passing by and they were having an event. The puppies were being adopted out and the long haired kittens, but Princess was older, almost a year and she was in the back of the furthest cage and nobody gave her a second look. I put my hand in and she purred and was the sweetest little thing. I talked to the volunteer who said nobody wanted a plain tiny mackerel tabby and she had been in the cage for five long weeks, imagine a cat this active stuck in a cage, it must have been horrible for her – well, I knew right then we were going to be pals. We had a connection me and Princess.”
Princess for her part lives to hunt. Each morning she wakes her human early and dances around, “most of the time, she will skip breakfast – she just wants outside so badly before the sun is up! I try to make sure she eats first.” Mr. Mason sets aside a good portion of his social security check to make sure Princess has the best food, a litter box and all her essentials.
“They told me she wasn’t to go outside but look at how happy she is, and it has been three years and she’s gorgeous, happy and working hard.” Mr. Mason said she explores but not too far and her presence is enough to discourage mice from moving into the cabin. “They would move in come fall when the temperatures start to drop” he explained, “and let me tell you, because this is a port town we have a wide variety of rodents from long haired roof rats to tiny house mice and they love a warm cabin. Not much smells worse in this world then rodents.”
Mr. Mason worries that Princess works too hard but everyday when she goes outside, it’s a good day.
