DailyPetPhotography is my daily joy,

and I'm smitten now with cats from all over the globe. Street cats of Asia, pampered housecats (@grapthar and @manorvillemike are special favorites; you'll find my comments all over their cat posts), feral felines,

source: IT'S A SCARY MARY FRIDAY #catsnaps @manorvillemike
Blaze, @grapthar's ginger tom,

and dogs too of course,

@wakeupkitty with her "wolf" dogs,

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@d00k13 with his rescue dog Jerry,

But today, my mind is on cats. Most of all, Merlin.

He was on clearance at the pound for $25, in a tiny cage in the bottom row, looking surly, uncompanionable, unkempt (wouldn't allow anyone to detangle his matted fur), and unwanted. My husband said "NO WAY." Next day, while he was at work, I bailed Merlin out of cat jail and brought him home and earned the first look of utter disgust my husband ever cast upon me in all our decades of married life.

I was not sorry. #NoRegrets

Naturally, Bobi the Bad persecuted poor Merlin,

and we rehomed Merlin with our son, who was lonely in an off-campus apartment at the time. Whenever we came to visit, Merlin would hide under the bed and have nothing to do with me. Later, Miles had to move, and No Cats Allowed in the next apartment, but a friend of his begged for Merlin, and we handed him off to her. Then, insanely, she brought in several kittens.

Merlin became a badass.

source
"Yes, People Are Giving Their Pets Medical Marijuana" by Josh Harkinson

No, that's not him in the photo,

but Merlin became predatory, hiding in doorways and leaping out to bite legs of whatever humans passed in the hallway. He also climbed cupboards and slashed open new bags of tortilla chips with his massive paws. He raided garbage cans for tuna tins and other enticing smells.

Against my husband's wishes, I brought Merlin home again.

He (Merlin) was soon happy, and Bobi the Bad failed utterly to subdue him. Merlin slept in the rocking chair that was Bobi's, and Bobi slept beneath the chair. Victory!!

Or maybe a tenuous truce?

Here they look like Putin and Kim Jong Un, plotting the overthrow of the civilized world.

Victorious, but not for long.

I was outnumbered by husband, daughter, and resident brat-cat. I listed Merlin with a Maine Coon Rescue site, and a Harley-riding Teamsters Union master who owns a 5,000-square-foot Victorian mansion drove six hours round trip to claim my beloved Merlin. Merlin was King Cat, the only cat in the house, with one sheltie, who was similar enough to our old collies, Blaise and Bailey, that Merlin gave the old boy no grief.

I have never stopped missing Merlin. "He is in a better place." So I tell myself.

Next time I see a Maine Coon like Merlin, no husband, no offspring, no other cat will stand between us.

And now I blush to confess

that I have rewatched a simple video of a Maine Coon named the Jester because he reminds me of Merlin.

source: mainecooncompanion
Facebook - I Love Maine Coon Cats
Instagram - The Gentle Giant Maine Coons

The Nick Drake song, "River Man," is a cover, and I haven't found out who sang it. The video is seemingly uneventful as a cat awakens, stretches, sits up, looks around, visits the kitchen, and walks over to a door... how I wish I had filmed Merlin like this! He could open doors; he could leap to the highest shelves and walk among breakables without toppling a single thing; he was a giant, he was a butterfly; he was a clown; he never failed to make me smile; I want another Merlin, but Bobi the Bad and his cohorts outnumber me.

Merlin!!!!