Frank, Baby Jocko, and I were settling in nicely at our new cat-friendly apartment. We had a small yard where we sat out during the warmer months. Baby would come out with us, and I just had to watch him whenever he jumped the fence into our senior-aged neighbor’s yard where there was a perfectly round sandy lot; the remains of an above-ground swimming pool. Baby saw it as his own personal outdoor litter box. Every day I would go into the yard and clean up after our innocent but distasteful Baby.
We began to get a visitor from around the block. Our yards faced each other, and a woman waved and called out to me, “Hello, his name is Larry."
She was referring to the skinny little tabby cat who had befriended Baby Jocko. As the saying goes, “who adopted who?” Larry certainly wanted to spend his time at our house. Eventually he started coming inside. Once when I let him in, he ran under our bed and wouldn’t come out. I could tell he was hurt.
I went around the block and knocked on the door of what I thought was Larry’s home. “Do you have a cat named Larry?” I asked. I was told he was “my brother-in-law’s cat.” I told my neighbor to have his brother-in-law come take his injured cat out from under our bed.
We gave him a day or two, but our neighbor didn’t come to get Larry. We decided to take care of him, and we took him to the vet. Larry was neutered and his abscess was drained. On the way home, Larry claimed his territory. He peed in my lap.
He was a tough guy but very lovable. He was always center stage when friends or family visited. I remember times when Larry took up half of the sofa and our guests were sitting on the floor!
We were lucky that The Famous Phoebe had the same personality and was comfortable hanging out with our friends on the boat.
Larry and Phoebe never met, but both had similar outgoing, fearless personalities.
I had this photo of Larry sitting in the garden in our yard. Years later, I noticed that Phoebe often sat in the exact same place. Here's a picture of each of them relaxing under the same shady bushes.
There was definitely a connection between them.
When Larry wasn’t hanging out with our friends, he was in trouble. I remember finding him on the patio standing up to three raccoons! I’m glad we got to him in time. Another time, we were caring for a white cat that sat on our back patio (the cat-word was out – go to 140 Union Avenue if you’re hungry). Well, we were ready to take Indiana in, but Larry said No Way! A fight ensued, and we had to take Indiana to the vet. A few days later he was gone. I like to think that someone took him to live in a farmhouse on a lavender farm out east.
Larry the Cat never was tough with Baby Jocko. They were brothers who lived a pleasant life and eventually grew old together. After Baby was gone, I asked Frank, “After Larry, can we get a dog?”
“Sure!” Frank replied.
Eventually Larry left us. Some time after that, we started to shop at the shelters.
Next up: That doesn’t look like a dog to me!
Please share: How many pets do you have?
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