Pet Stories: In Your Own Words

It was a chilly, foggy and raining San Francisco night. Next door neighbors had us over for dinner and in crossing thru their back yard into ours, a black cat showed up outlined in the dark and at my urging, followed us up the steep back stairs to the reasonably dry porch. I went inside and brought out a bowl of cat food which the cat sniffed and then walked over to the top of the stairs and craned its neck with a summoning little cry. Three smaller cats cautiously came up and they all gathered round the bowl. Short work was made of it and I brought another bowl of food and refilled the original. My thought was that a Mama cat had brought her brood to food and shelter. I brought out some cartons with pillows and bedding and was delighted that they all were there next morning. However, in the bright light of day, it was obvious that the black cat was not a Mama cat. He was a young Tomcat and had led the Mama cat and her two kittens to our door. The male kitten stayed near his Mother while the female kitten clove to the male black cat.

Stories abound of this motley crew and in the process, Bubbles, the Mother and Nigel, the male kitten were lost, thru no fault of mine. Blackjack and the female kitten, Daphne were nearly lost but after 8 years and 3,000 miles, these two are still with me. Blackjack's decision to stay was not without some agonizing on his part. Being a street cat, he did not readily give up his roaming freedom. Neither did he stay away for long at a time and finally, he was home to stay. My black cat with a soul!