Loss of an Animal Friend

 

My friend Mr.  Grey (the Guard Kitty).  We miss you so much, Mr. Grey.  

Mr. Grey just turned up a few years ago, a long haired cat that was terribly matted and dirty.  He liked our yard, apparently, and hung around patiently, not running away when I approached, just sizing me up.  So of course, I fed him, and that was when he decided to join us in ernest.  

There were already several resident cats, some of them also strays or abandoned.  One was Phoebe (who eventually found a loving home elsewhere!),  and Lacy and Sweetpea,  both deceased as I write now.  Emma, a fellow cat woman, and I eventually took Mr. Grey into be groomed, and his matted hair was cut away (see above picture), and as it turned out, every spring he endured the same procedure so that he could more comfortably endure the hot summers.  When we took him for his shots, we learned that he had been neutered, and even had a microchip, with a phone number no longer working.  He had, indeed, been abandoned, as so many domestic cats are.

Mr. Grey also took it upon himself to guard the property from any invading tomcats.......... which was a noble endeavor, but several times required I take him in for stitches.  He was, however, a most noble warrior spirit.  When a little orange kitten turned up, also apparently abandoned, Mr.  Grey took it upon himself to be his adopted Dad.  The new kitten followed him everywhere, and I often saw Mr. Grey sitting with Percy beside him, as Mr. Grey did his "guard duty".  

We miss you, Mr. Grey.