Ralph - Cat of the Week

Am I permitted to have a "Favorite" child? I think most parents do, whether or not they wish to admit it. Though I try to love and treat all of my kids equally, This One stands out on personality alone! Smart, entertaining, outgoing, sociable, elegant, good-natured... this guy has it all! Actually, the word that applies best to him is "Neat". In fact, he's a Medically Certified Neat Cat. Every time we take him to the vet, whichever vet or tech handles him, always returns him to us with the words, "This is a really neat cat!"

He got off to a rough start in life, and pure chance led me to him. I was on my way home from a crushingly boring board meeting late one night (the one night the vet happened to be open until 10:00 pm) when I realized I'd forgotten to pick up some meds for one of the other cats. I was tired and pissed and totally fed up with Boards, and had a brief argument with myself as to whether to drive over to the vet hospital before hitting the freeway, or waiting until the next day to make the trip. "Do It Now" won the argument and I headed for the vet. In the lobby I saw two young women crying as they hugged one another and peered anxiously into a shoe box that held a limp little grey furball, almost too small to be believed. They said their kitten was sick and they couldn't afford to take care of him, and the vet had said he would have to be put to sleep. Those words always send a red flag up in my brain, so I asked if I could speak with the vet. Turns out, the young ladies had just gotten their first jobs, first apartment and first car, and, of course, wanted their first kitten to go along with everything else. At four weeks old, he was way too young to be taken away from mom, to which was added the problem that these well-meaning ladies had no idea what to do with a kitten. They pretty much expected him to be a self-functioning, maintenance-free unit, so they didn't feed him right, didn't clean up after him right, didn't know how to deal with the fleas, didn't keep him warm enough, and on and on. He was literally hanging on by a thread of life. I told the vet I'd intervene, but, if I did, he would become my cat. Long story short... I won custody, he stayed at the vet hospital for a week while they repaired him, and then came home to join our family. He truly is a Neat Cat - there's just no other way to describe him. I've never known such a personable creature, and will be eternally grateful to whatever made me turn around and drive to the vet's that night!

First day home, fearlessly exploring his new life...

Up close and personal...

Always into something...

Knows how to relax...

Displays just the right amount of "attitude" about what's his vs what's ours...

Very well read...

You Go, Ralpher!!