JPG

This is a story I don’t want to start, because when write it, then it has to be true. It’s a story about Violet. The last time I saw him was on the 22 of January 2003. It was a cold day. I thought back to the eve before. Violet was there waiting for supper. I picked him up but he did not like it very much. I remember back to a few days earlier. He came for supper and he was so dusty I could not believe it. By the last time I saw him, he had cleaned himself up nicely. Violets story starts back in the spring of 1997. I was tending to Mama and her 4 kittens. Then from no where came a feral cat. I called her Scruffy as she looked so thin and dirty. I thought to myself, I don’t need another cat, especially one that could be sick. Scruffy was very persistent. She did not mix with the other cats, but always showed up at meal time. A few days later, I happened under the carport. I had put
a tarp over a lawn mover for the winter. For some reason I removed the tarp. To my surprise I saw kittens scurrying about. In all there were four.
There was little patches, Violet, Tiger and Whiskers. The mother was a very proud mother and seemed a bit relived that her secret was out. It was less than a month that little patches left with her Mother one day and was found dead with in 24 hours. Now there are three. The kittens were doing well and went to the vet for their baby shots. Tiger seemed a bit sick the next day. I took him back to the vet. He had a severe neurological reaction to
one of the shots. Tiger stayed at the vet for several days. Thats when I found out one of the shots had caused the reaction and had caused him to be deaf. Whiskers was fine but always seemed to have a really bad disposition around others. Violet was a very sweet cat. He used to sit and look up at the bird feeder for hours and just watch the birds and squirrels. The next year Jake the dog came to live here. For some reason, when ever Jake came out Violet was right there purring and rubbing up against him. Now Violet
was a boy and at a very young age got his name. After I found he was a boy, I just left it and he did not seem to mind. When the kittens were about 6 months old they all took a trip to the vet to be neutered, even Scruffy- their mom. By now Scruffy was all filled out, clean and was quite a beautiful cat. A few short weeks after her spade, she left, never to be seem again. The kittens had a good home and seemed quite happy. I tried to bring Tiger in the house to live, but he was so unhappy. So I let him stay outside. Tiger slept under the big oak tree in the front yard, Whiskers spent his time across the street and Violet made his home under a shed of my next door neighbor. Poor Tiger got run over. The only cat of Scruffy’s litter that still here is Whiskers. Can it be that now there is only one of Scruffy's kittens left? Tiger, Patches, Violet and Mama Scruffy. I think the neighbor poisoned Violet. Perhaps if I keep writing, it won’t be true.
February 9, 2003
Lower AL