Since I was young I've had either a dog, a cat or both. When I was around 15 we were living on Salem street and both of our cats had died. I'm not sure but it may have been a fisher cat (our neighbor down the street came out to his cat being slashed up by one a year before). However Ginger and Gilligan went I do not know for sure but I was left without a cat. A couple of months went by before my mom decided to do something about it.
I came home from school one day and my mom asked me to get the mail. As I walked up to the box I heard a pawing and whining noise that was the all to familiar sound of a kitten. Quickly opening the box I found a kitten. The little ball of fur was brown black and gray with a tiger pattern. I was smitten at once with the little guy. I was listening to a lot of CSNY at that time and decided after a couple days to name him Crosby.
As far a what type of cat he is, he was adopted from a shelter, so we can't say for sure although he has the markings, size and features of a Maine Coon. He likes to be outside a lot.
For a while there I kept him in my room, as is standard with most kittens, before letting him explore the house. Each day I came home from school I would run upstairs and play with him. Soon he began to go outside and explore the wild expanse of our yard and surrounding woods. When we moved about a year later there was no problem with him adjusting to a new area. There were still woods for him to play in and other animals to try and eat.
He was always good at killing things. He would drop mice off near the side door or leave a present to be found somewhere, but always outside. One time I went to turn the gas on in my workshop and I found a large headless squirrel behind the tank. Another time, more recently it was an absolute down pour as I arrived home. I saw him out by the side door and he was crouched over something. Normally I would never see him outside in the rain unless he was under a car or the little stone seat he uses for shelter on occasion. This time Crosby was eating a mouse full tilt like there was no tomorrow. I had never seen him do that, what with the rain in all. On the other hand he has been at times hunted.
Crosby cam back on day and it was evident by the blood soak that something either had him or tried to slash his throat. I couldn't see the actual wound but it healed fine all the same. He still has a little bump where it was. Although not from an animal Crosby did have some sort of infection on his ear that made it fill with blood and bob like a balloon whenever he moved it. The vet said that we could do surgery or just sort of cut it and then stick it up. We chose the latter and after it had healed his ear was shrunken to about a third of its original size. This probably happened nine years ago. Other than the ear, Crosby looks fine.
As far as cleanliness Crosby takes great pride in his appearance. He cleans his coat for hours on the couch or outside. Anytime he gets wet I dry him off with a towel and he loves that, or a nice brushing once in a while. He has a thick coat and can sometimes have a problem with hairballs.
As far as cats go they come trained, almost. They use a little box at a young age and there isn't much mess with them as a puppy would be. There are, however, ways that they can train you. Crosby figured out a long time ago that if he is to scratch at the screen he will be let in. He has ruined a lot of screens over the years., much to moms chagrin. He generally goes in or out ten times a day. He can be indecisive on whether he wants to be in or out and it can get annoying. Often he will come in, eat for two minutes and then ask to go out again. During the summer months he will stay out for a very long time, sometimes not coming back all day. I thought I lost him a couple times during the summer only to have him come waltzing back as if he didn't care. Whenever the dogs go out he will, too, and sort of mill around while they do their business. He will then come in again with them because he knows that treats are given out at that time. He'll jump up onto the counter and sit pertly waiting for me to give him a treat. Sometimes I give him cat nip, but he can be a mean drunk in terms of swatting at the dogs or anyone who's within range.
On evenings he is left inside, Crosby will, the following morning, walk upstairs and then scratch my door until I attend to him. Sometimes I give him a drink from the bathroom sink, which he is adept at using. He is surely one alarm clock that has no snooze button and he often waked me up at 5am.
For a cat over 10 years old ( I think he's around 11) he does well. He may have slowed down a little but he still has plenty of pep in his step. He naps more nowadays but he still kills on a regular basis. He is the oldest cat I've had and no other could replace him. I'll probably shed a couple tears when he does pass on but hopefully that won't be for a while.
That's all I have for now, I'll add some more on him soon in case I forget anything.
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