Kitty story...the story of Gabe, the orange, long-haired tomcat who lived across the street from where I grew up with my grandparents.
When I was very young, I spent a great deal of my time playing with Gabe...and being a 14 pound cat with a reputation for running German Shepards away, he was quite tolerant of my "attention" and desire to pick him up and lug him around!
One day my grandfather found Gabe laying under a board that was leaned against the side of the laundry shed...blood on his hind leg...he had been SHOT!...with a .22...so the bullet shattered his leg and exited...
My grandma went across the street and told Gabe's owners what had happened....speculating that someone had a female cat who was in heat and that Gabe had come to "scratch her itch"...but Gabe had been neutered, so they shot him even more senselessly!
Well...the owners of Gabe were a poor lot...and couldn't afford vet bills...so they suggested that my aunt, a lover of animals, pay the vet bill and just let ME keep Gabe!
The deal was done and Gabe had surgery to have pins put in his leg...and he hobbled around with a cast on his leg for what seemed like an eternity to a very young me!
That cat was so grateful for what we did for him!...my grandfather never had to worry about a dog...or any OTHER animal, for that matter...getting into the yard or his large, extensive garden! ...That cat would chase any dog brave enough to step foot on the grass....a big, orange streak would fly across the lawn!...and said dog would be yelping and running away before GAbe ever got a claw close to it!
Gabe was my buddy and companion and protector!
He also did a fine job of keeping the rodent population under check! ...the only mouse I ever saw inside that house was the one that Gabe caught before the mouse trap did!
Gabe lived to be over 14 years old...I was a sad youngster when we made the decision to put him out of his misery....he couldn't hold himself up on his legs any more...his fight was gone...
Now some 40 plus years later I still can feel the warm softness of his coat as I lay my head on him to watch tv.
Gabe was my ambassador to the love of sharing my life with a cat.