BarryC
03-16-2007, 03:12 PM
Here's his story:
Years ago a cat showed up on our property. We are in a rural area, so he was not in danger of getting hit by a car or anything. There was plenty of woods for him to roam in. Anyway he was a tabby cat, maybe even pure-bred. He had no white on him, or almost none anyway. He had a collar with dogtags, with his name, and his owners' name, address and phone number. (that's where we got the name Norton).
He was very friendly and he enjoyed being petted. I picked him up and drove him to his owner's house, which was just across the road and down a bit. The woman thanked me and said "Oh he comes and goes as he pleases."
The next day he was back so I didn't bother returning him again. He was an outdoor cat and stayed that way, so really, if he wanted to go back to his owners, he could. But he stayed with us forever after that, although he was gone a lot, probably hunting.
He became my best friend.
Every day when I came home from work, he would come running, from wherever he was. When I opened the door of my truck, if I didn't get out immediately, he would get in. If I was outside working on my car or truck, he would be there with me, under the hood, if that's where I was. Any time I walked out to the mailbox, or took a walk in the woods, he would go with me. One day he was hanging out with me while I was working on my truck, and a big dog wandered over, from a neighbor somewhere. The dog was just minding his own business, sniffing around. When Norton caught sight of that dog he growled and hissed. That dog took of like a shot! I never saw a dog run so fast.
If I ever let Norton in the house, he insisted on being on my lap. If I ignored him, he would put a paw up on my leg. Those claws hurt!
In 2005, or possibly 2004, around July 4 he disappeared for a couple days. On the 4th I was at a friend's house for a barbecue. I called home for some reason. That's when my mom told me. She said Norton finally came home. He was in terrible shape. He had massive head trauma, with one eye severely damaged, and that wasn't all. But somehow he came home like that. Mom figured he got hit by a car or something. They took him to an animal hospital. After a full exam my mom was given an estimate of what he would need done to get himself back to normal, or something close to normal. The estimated amount that it would all cost was something none of us could afford, so mom had him put to sleep.
When I got off the phone with my mom and told this story to my friend, whose house I was at for the barbecue, I started crying. In fact tears are starting to well up now.
I still miss him.
When I get my computer back, I will post pictures of him. What a cool cat he was.
Barry
Years ago a cat showed up on our property. We are in a rural area, so he was not in danger of getting hit by a car or anything. There was plenty of woods for him to roam in. Anyway he was a tabby cat, maybe even pure-bred. He had no white on him, or almost none anyway. He had a collar with dogtags, with his name, and his owners' name, address and phone number. (that's where we got the name Norton).
He was very friendly and he enjoyed being petted. I picked him up and drove him to his owner's house, which was just across the road and down a bit. The woman thanked me and said "Oh he comes and goes as he pleases."
The next day he was back so I didn't bother returning him again. He was an outdoor cat and stayed that way, so really, if he wanted to go back to his owners, he could. But he stayed with us forever after that, although he was gone a lot, probably hunting.
He became my best friend.
Every day when I came home from work, he would come running, from wherever he was. When I opened the door of my truck, if I didn't get out immediately, he would get in. If I was outside working on my car or truck, he would be there with me, under the hood, if that's where I was. Any time I walked out to the mailbox, or took a walk in the woods, he would go with me. One day he was hanging out with me while I was working on my truck, and a big dog wandered over, from a neighbor somewhere. The dog was just minding his own business, sniffing around. When Norton caught sight of that dog he growled and hissed. That dog took of like a shot! I never saw a dog run so fast.
If I ever let Norton in the house, he insisted on being on my lap. If I ignored him, he would put a paw up on my leg. Those claws hurt!
In 2005, or possibly 2004, around July 4 he disappeared for a couple days. On the 4th I was at a friend's house for a barbecue. I called home for some reason. That's when my mom told me. She said Norton finally came home. He was in terrible shape. He had massive head trauma, with one eye severely damaged, and that wasn't all. But somehow he came home like that. Mom figured he got hit by a car or something. They took him to an animal hospital. After a full exam my mom was given an estimate of what he would need done to get himself back to normal, or something close to normal. The estimated amount that it would all cost was something none of us could afford, so mom had him put to sleep.
When I got off the phone with my mom and told this story to my friend, whose house I was at for the barbecue, I started crying. In fact tears are starting to well up now.
I still miss him.
When I get my computer back, I will post pictures of him. What a cool cat he was.
Barry