GrooVey, To tell my cat's story has to include the stories of so many other lives too.
Back in 2021, our 3 dogs were on their last legs which finally wrapped up with us losing the last in 2022-2023. Suddenly we found the 2 boy cats curled up in the Autumn sun in our garden. I eventually trained them to trust me enough that they actually ate in the loaner traps the county gave us in the Spring. I was able to capture them for shots and neutering. Of course, we changed our home from a dog home, to a dog and cat home, albeit the cats were outside ferals. We had to be careful that the dogs didn't harm the wee kitties, but that was easy because of dog leads, and the naturally elusive feral cat natures.
Here is where the MANY lives of others comes in. Beginning in 1994, I acquired a stray Husky mutt who my old girlfriend found by the side of the road back then. He was the smartest and FURRIEST of love bugs. My buddy knew tricks, was obedient, and easy to love. After he died 9 years later, I had maybe a 5.5 year span before I would get another pup. This time, a buddy's 17 yr old kid called me up one day to tell me about his Pit pup he had just gotten. That call would lead to my amazing Pit Bull pup coming my way. She would live from 2008 till 2022 which made her 14 and 5 months old. Here again, I raised the most incredibly smart, loving, and mind blowing animal. My Husky earned the name Shadow because of how he was literally my shadow. The funny part is, my Red Nose Pitbull was even more of a shadow to me than he was. I named her Spike.
By the time Spike was around 4-5 years old, she would have gained many human and animal friends, but the best was yet to come. As she and I got together with my future bride, Kathy, Spike and I would add her 2 dogs, Charlie and Chloe to her pals. We would now become part of their PACK. To hear Kathy's side of the story before we came into their home, Charlie was a mean SOB of a Terrier, who would bite her friends. her kids' friends, and just about anyone who came to their house. On my first visit, he jumped into my lap on her staircase. He was pretty much on his road to a transformation of his demeanor with me as his MAN and Spike as his 2nd girlfriend.
Throughout my life, the way that animals behave for me and around me, is almost Dr Dolittle-like. Now that Blackie's brother and mom and all our dogs have passed, Blackie is like my shadow number 3. The transformation from fearful feral to literally being my lap cat who loves snuggling. He is nothing short of 14.5 lbs of playfulness, and LOVE with fur and a rough tongue. The calm trust he has shown me when he needed me for the first and now last attempts to pull ticks off him, sends me the unmistakable message of submission in order to let me help him.
