NEVER...EVER...GIVE UP HOPE : Dogs - O is for Old Fart and Other Cats That Like Baths

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Dogs - O is for Old Fart and Other Cats That Like Baths

Old Fart. I know he had another name but I can't remember it. This cat was born old. He was so laid back and gentle that nothing disturbed him. He was pitch black and as beautiful as his calm nature.

When I vacuumed the house, he wouldn't move so I would have to push him out of the way with the vacuum and he never even flinched. If you picked him up to hold him, he would stay there until you moved him.

When he came in from outside one day, he reeked something awful and I told the kids we would have to bathe him. Now, I know you have seen the hilarious stories describing what it is like to bathe a cat. We certainly expected this from Old Fart so I wore gloves in anticipation of getting scratched. In the bathtub, Old Fart was sitting up as I soaped him and then rinsed him off. I was almost finished when he just fell over and was submerged under water. My son yelled, "Mom, you killed him!" I thought I had, but he had just FALLEN ASLEEP!

He was only a year old when I was driving out of our property and saw him lying on the side of road. He had been hit by a car and we certainly mourned the loss of this precious, unusual kitty.

TONY

Tony. Antonio. My favorite cat. Tony was such a lover. He just wanted to sit on your lap and be cuddled. He loved all his dog siblings and played with them endlessly. He and Louie would play tag outside and watching it was sheer entertainment. When we moved from the country to the city, he became very ill. We suspected that he had somehow been poisoned. Remember how Mercedez mourned his death for two weeks in M is for Mercedez? Mercedez and I cried together.

TOMMY

Rochelle, my daughter, lived across the street from the S.P.C.A. and on weekends she volunteered to walk the dogs. She fell in love with and adopted Zack, who you will hear about later. Everyday she noticed this huge orange cat that no one wanted to adopt. He was only a year old but weighed about 25 pounds. He needed exercise and a diet and, you guessed it, went home with Rochelle.

When Rochelle moved to California and later to the Arctic Circle, Tommy and the rest of her brood would travel with her. They would drive 24 hours in a stretch and Tommy would sleep the entire trip, not even asking to get out. He is as calm as Old Fart. I guess our cats enjoy living with all these dogs!