My Name is Boots

Boots

I'm a cat.
I'm an Tom Cat.
I'm a Ring Tailed Ole' Tom cat.

I was lost for a long time. I'd spend the winter in the pallet factory beside the feed store. I managed to survive there for many years. I would visit neighborhoods in the spring, summer and fall and got food from Big Cats who live in houses. Most were kind to me. Some medium sized cats were not so nice and would chase me and throw sticks at me.

I would go back to the pallet yard beside the feed store for the winter. I don't know how many years I did this but it was a lot. One year a girl cat came long.

Momma

She's a cat.
She's a very pretty cat.
She's got a messy face!

We got along fine. Several month later we were joined by some little cats. I don't know how many exactly. It was tough having little ones to feed. Only one survived.

Baby

She's a cat.
She's a very pretty cat.
She's wearing a tuxedo!

We foraged for food as best we could. There were little furry critters to eat near the feed store. In the spring we would venture further afield to search for food. One day we found a house with other cats.


I met an orange cat.

Squirt

He's a cat.
He's orange with stripes.
He likes to fight with me.
I kicked his butt.

This was our life for a few years. Winter in the pallet yard. Spring, summer and fall hanging out near the house with the other cats. The Big Cats who live in the house would leave us nummies to eat. We liked it there. I especially liked something the Big Cats called 'Thanksgiving dinner'. It was hot and yummy and lotsa gravy. We would lick the gravy off and then chow down on the meat! Our bellies were always full.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Winter came hard and fast that year. We didn't go back to the pallet factory. The baby cat got attacked by a racoon and lost two of her toes on her hind foot. The Big Cats took her into the house for safety. The next day they took the Momma cat into the house too. I was alone again. I didn't know what to do so I went back to the pallet factory. I spent that winter alone. It was a long cold winter.

Hurt, scared, hungry.

I wandered around for a long time looking for the Momma and her baby cat. In the spring I went back to the house with the other cats. I could see Momma and the baby cat in the window. I got into fights with other cats who didn't like me. I was hurt, I was skinny and I was hungry. The Big Cat seemed happy to see me. He tried to get me to come inside with the other cats. I hesitated and he scooped me up and put me inside. I was scared but it was nice to be with the Momma cat and the baby cat.

The orange cat was there too. He didn't like me at first. We would give each other 'High Fives' in passing.

One day the Big Cat snatched me up and put me in a cage. I was terrified. He put me in the back seat of those big boxy things that run wild up and down the streets. I was so scared. We stopped and the Big Cat took me into see something called a 'Vet Tech'. I was frightened. The Vet Tech had on huge leather gloves. The Big Cat said I was 'feral'. I didn't know what that meant but as soon as the Vet Tech picked me up out of that cage I was happy and I purred. I heard the Big Cat and the Vet Tech talking something about 'his operation' and that is all I remember till the next day when I woke up in the cage again. The Big Cat took me home. I was groggy but happy to see the Momma cat and her baby.

One day the Momma cat and her baby got put in the cage. I don't know what happened to them. They were gone for a long time. I looked everywhere for them. The next day they came home and they were groggy too. I wonder if they got the same 'operation' too!

There is also another cat in the house.

Shadow, aka The Princess

She's a grey and white cat.
She's not very pretty.
She's grumpy all the time.

She hisses and swats at me when I walk past. She hides a lot. The Big Cats call her the 'Princess', whatever that means. I don't pay her any attention. The Momma cat and her don't get along very well either.


The Big Cats take good care of us. There's always plenty to eat and warm places to sleep. We can come and go in and out of the house as we please but we have to be back inside at night. Sometimes I like to stay outside all night but I know that the Big Cats don't like that. They make us stay inside all the next day. I don't like that either. The Momma cat stayed inside for a very long time. The Big Cats always said she was 'Feral' and were afraid she wouldn't come home again if they let her out. Eventually the Momma cat figured it out and can now come and go like the rest of us.

We are a happy family now with a 'Forever Home'.