Day 321, Nov. 17: Meow

Tabby, approaching his last days of a nearly 18-year life.

Cats I Have Known

Or Have Known Me

Some of these won't have names I remember, but I'll always remember them. Thanks to my friend, Al, for this suggested Top 10, as well as the past two posts.

Abby: My mom's last cat, she was a big girl who had an even bigger heart for my mom. It was a tough loss for her just a few years ago.

Bootsie: I asked my mom about this black-and-white cat we had when I was very young. She didn't remember it. But I'm sure we had it. Not too memorable, I guess.

Bubblehead: A sad, but memorable, kitten I knew owned by my friend Mark's family when we were in high school. It didn't live long with its over-sized water head or whatever it was.

Chang & Chang: Our first two of several Siamese cats we had when I was young. I was in junior high and we lived on Page Street in Stoughton when we had these two.

Chong: We gave this name to a giant Page Street neighborhood Siamese cat who would hang out near our house and meow in the deepest cat voice I've ever heard.

Farm cats: I've known several at the farm owned by my brother-in-law Jay. None of them really wanted to come to close to me, and they probably would have beaten me up, anyway.

Leah: One of our current cats, she's a jumper who flails after toys and leaps onto kitchen counters with the greatest of ease (and she gets in trouble for the second one)

No-name: I'm sure we gave her a name, but I forgot it. I do remember she and her kittens were ambushed by a coon or fox and all eaten while my first wife, Jane, and the kids and I were out of town for a night. (Obviously, they were outdoor cats :-)

Shrek: This was a cat that lived with my son Jay and his roommate in Davenport. I saw him only twice, but he was the biggest cat I've ever seen. Shrek was a good name.

Tabby: He came after no-name and not only survived wild animals as an indoor/outdoor cat, he lived to be almost 18. 

My favorite cat of all time.

Woody: Another of our current cats, he's a strapping young guy who loves drinking out of a faucet. Not one for a lot of affection, his time to seek it is in the middle of the night - in our bed.