Wednesday, August 8, 2012

World Cat Day

His name was Calvin. The first time I set eyes on him was after I shooed away the neighborhood kids who'd chased him under the hood of our truck and I got my brother in law to come open it. A tiny black furball was sitting on top of the engine and my instinct was to reach out and grab him before he could dive back into the bowels of the truck. He reacted predictably, he bit down on my thumb and didn't let go until I let go.

He bolted under another car and luckily stayed there until Greg got home. Using food and a pair of welding gloves, he grabbed up the starving little barely weaned kitten. He was installed in our bathroom for two days and all that was seen of him was his tail as he ducked behind the toilet every time the door was opened.

Until the door was opened and the kittens, roughly a week older than him who'd been raised in my closet, were allowed in to see the new guy. Hobbes, the boldest of the bunch, ran right in. Calvin rushed out and went nose to nose with the tabby kitten. Hiding time was over. And Hobbes' mother, Sadie, took Calvin under her wing ..er paw and nursed him and raised him with her three babies.

He never got over being a scardy cat, but he was a loving sweetheart. He would sit next to you, still as stone, staring, his eyes boring holes into your head, until you noticed him and pet him, then he would fall over on one side like a ton of bricks with no grace whatsoever so you could rub his tummy.

He wanted to share my water all the time. You know I have no problem with my kitties sticking their face in my glass and having a drink. But that wasn't Calvin's method. He dipped his paw in, licked the water off, then shook it, splattering it everywhere, then he'd dip and start over again. Now, I will share their spit in my water, but paws.. no, that was a little more than I cared to share. But he was the master of getting in that water when I was distracted! Luckily the splatter gave it away and warned me not to drink from the litter foot contaminated water!

He never got over his scardy cat ways and would flee from a room if Greg stood up. But he'd be back the second he sat down again or left. I could stand, but not Greg. He didn't like company but got along with all other kitties. He was easy going and sweet, until scared, but quickly calmed back down.

I don't know how, but he seemed to always know the phone was going to ring before it did. Or else he just reacted so fast it seemed like he jumped at the exact microsecond that it rang! One second he'd be on his back, nearly comatose with kitty delight at having his tummy rubbed, the next he was completely gone! Sometimes I wouldn't realize he had jumped up before there was no kitty on my lap.

His rarely used meow was something special. Like a rusty gate. He would open his mouth and it took a moment before you heard the second half of a meow. Well, part of a meow. He went "...eeh" very quietly, which was unexpected from a large heavy black cat. Sometimes you'd get the whole end "...eeow" but mostly, just the squeaky middle.

He lived over 15 years, my big baby. If you're wondering why I'm telling you about him, then you must not know that it's World Cat Day. It's a day to celebrate everything cat, in any way you want. And I wanted to share the life of one of my previous sweet babies.


Happy World Cat Day!

22 comments:

Maggie @ Shelter Cats said...

I love Calvin's story- cats leave their paw prints all over our hearts.
" No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch." - Leo Dworken

Random Felines said...

awwwww - how wonderfully sweet - and a great way to celebrate. :)

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

Calvin was a treasure, and thank you for sharing your memories with all of us.

purrs
>^,,^<
✿•*¨`*•. ♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥✿•*¨`*•.

Fuzzy Tales said...

This made my heart feel both heavy and light at the same time. Beautiful tribute post.

Happy World Cat Day.

Sweet Purrfections said...

What a wonderfully sweet story of Calvin.

Fr. Tom Fish said...

I loved that story and I'm glad you shared it with us :)

The comment about the litter foot cracked up Mom Julie! Nope, we don't like to think where that paw's been!

Happy World Cat Day to you all, too, and the memory of Calvin.

Hugs,
Tom xx

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

That was a beautiful story about Calvin. Thank you for sharing it.

Brian's Home Blog said...

Such a loving, loving tribute and it made my heart smile! Happy World Cat Day everyone!

Kwee Cats and Art said...

We enjoyed getting to hear about Mr. Calvin! We got paw lickers here too. It's especially fun to stick our paw into Mumsy's Soda Pop Fizzy glass and chase the bubbles. Water and milk from her glass is the best to dip and lick from. Funny, too, how one dip and it's ours.

Hugs and happy to you guys. Happy World Cat Day!

Unknown said...

What a great story!

Happy Cat Day!

Lots of Purrs and Headbonks

Henry

Sparkle said...

Calvin was really something - a very special kitty! Happy World Cat Day to you.

Unknown said...

Thanks yous for telling us about Calvin! He sure sounds like a special cat!
Kisses
Nellie
PS Happy World Cat Day

The Island Cats said...

What a great story! Thanks for sharing Calvin's story with us. Happy World Cat Day!!

Jans Funny Farm said...

Thanks for sharing Calvin's story. We enjoyed reading about him.

Gigi said...

We luffed reading your story about Calvin. I am glad Star felt better after my visit last night. Poor little sweetheart. What a traumatic day!!

The Furries of Whisppy said...

What a lovely story of Calvin! Thank you for sharing. :)

dArtagnan Rumblepurr/Diego Hamlet Moonfur said...

What a lovely story about a special boy.

Marg said...

That is such a terrific way to celebrate World Cat day. Calvin sounds like a lot of cats around here. He does sound like he was a very special kitty. Thanks for telling us about him.

Laila and Angel Minchie said...

What a beautiful, heart warming story. Thank you for sharing and so appropriate for World Cat Day.

Cat said...

Thank you for telling Calvin's story what a lovely boy he was and so lucky to have found a home where he could be accepted as he was :-)

LP said...

What a lucky boy to not only have been found by you but to also have a nursing cat to take him in and build up his system!!
Calvin sounded like a real sweetheart :)


the critters in the cottage xo

Quill and Greyson said...

Your description of his meow is exactly like Quills!! We call him Squeaks.