Ralph (Mixed Breed Cat)

Ralph is a half Calico and half stray. He's about 8 or 9 years old. We have a wood pile behind our house, for the fire place in the winter. One day I noticed this beautiful Calico cat walking around our house. So I went outside and befriended her. She was super friendly, so I decided to keep her. We had mice in the wood pile, and the shed next to it.

It was early spring, and this spring was a little warmer than normal so I was sitting on the side porch right after dinner. As always, here comes kitty, we never did name her, we just called her Kitty or Sweetie or whatever. There wasn't really a reason to name her, I never had to call for her, if we were out side, she was by our side. As I was sitting there, she peaked around the corner of the house. This time she took a little longer to approach, but when she did, she was followed by a kitten, then two, then three. "Oh my." There was eight kittens in all. Talk about cute!

Eight long hair calico kittens, all of them different colors. They looked about five weeks old, so I knew I had some time with them before I would have to give them away. When that time came, I put a "Free Kittens" sign in the front yard. By the weekend, all the kittens had new homes except one. He wouldn't hang around and be looked at with the rest of the kittens, he would always dart off somewhere. Kitty seemed OK during the whole process of giving her kittens away. Except the one. We could never even catch him. He decided he wasn't going anywhere.

As spring turned into summer Kitty hung around us whenever we were out side, along with her large kitten. He wouldn't have anything to do with us. As midsummer came, I was sitting on the side porch after dinner enjoying the evening just before sunset. Kitty would join me, but this time it took her a little longer to come around the corner of the house. And she finally did, I thought - here we go again. Eight little fuss balls and one big one followed her. I laughed and said, "Kitty you have to stop."

Again, when the time came the sign went back up, and we started giving kittens away. When there was only Kitty and three of her small kittens, and one big one left. A very nice couple came by and they said that they would take all of them, including Kitty. They had a dairy farm out side of town. What a perfect place for Kitty and her kittens, I thought.

I didn't want to give Kitty away, but I had a very sick cat in the house. (More on that in a min.) And with winter just around the corner I didn't want any cats outside. So we gathered all the kittens and Kitty for the couple to take to their farm, except for the big one. he was no where to be found.

As summer turned into fall, I sat on the bottom step of the side porch, I started to talk to the big kitten. I started by just sticking my foot out and wiggling it to see if he would come to it. We became friends. when I went outside to feed him or do yard work, all I had to do was stick my foot out, and he would come and rub on it. I put the sign back out, but nobody wanted him. So I had to make a decision. Winter was coming, and I don't believe in leaving pets outside in the winter. Inside the house, I already had a 19 year old cat named Petie who was diabetic and required shots twice a day. Should I bring the new cat in? Or give Petie the peace he need in his last days.

I decided to name the big kitten Ralph, get him fixed, and bring him in. By this time the nights were getting very cold. Everything worked out good when Ralph came in. He stayed with Petie all the time. He seemed to know something was wrong, he would clean him and they would cuddle together. They spent about a year together.

The last time we took Petie to the vet, we were advised to put him to sleep, because the quality of his life was getting worse. It was hard to say good bye, but we did. We had him cremated and put into a little wood box, with his name engraved on a brass plate on front. We put him in the spare room with his collar and a photo of him. We have a little dog also in the same room.

Forgot to mention also that during this time we have a dog also. She's a small dog, pure white, half poodle and half something else. She would not leave the wood pile alone. we thought it was the mice. But when I would sit on the side porch with her - Buffy, and introduced to the new kittens both times, Buffy already knew them. lol They came right up to her and start playing with her.

It was amazing to watch. So right now it is Buffy and Ralph in the house, and they are friends. Once Ralph came into the house, he has never wanted to go back outside again. And that has been about 9 years now. He is happy being lazy. This is a true story, the short version.

Ralph likes to chase his treats when I throw them. I have lots to share , but not enough time too.

By David from Front Royal, VA