Cats in the Hood

Last year we had one kitten from next door who wanted us to adopt him. His name is Buster, and I have probably mentioned his name before. Buster is all grown up now, although he is a very small cat, and he must have a hard time making it on the mean streets of the West End. There are a lot of big tough cats in this hood without a really good home, cats like Buster himself, only bigger, and meaner. The proof in the toughness of young Buster's life is that the last time I tried to pet him he got all squirrelly and hissed at me, whereas in the past he was eager for a good petting. He has a hard time trusting now, and is not the love cat he once was.

Enter this year's crop of kittens. One is a smoke gray kitten who looks a bit too much like the neighbors gray cat (named Smoke). Is it a family connection, or merely a coincidence? One can never know in the crazy mixed up world of cat sexuality, but I do know that Buster still has his boys and so perhaps Smoke is likewise endowed. In any case this younger Smoke, despite being very curious about us and our home seems to be a kept cat since s/he has a collar with a bell.

The other kitten looks a lot like our cat Merlin (Joanna has dubbed the cat "Mini Mer"). In fact, if I wasn't so sure that Merlin was an indoor cat who had himself fixed eons ago I might give pause. In any case, both these kittens are full of love and curiosity not unlike Buster was before the harsh realities of life in a poor neighborhood with a family who only has passing interest got the better of him. What will become of these little kittens? Will they survive their first years among the cars and tough cats that cruise these streets? Will they become the jaded and distant adult cat like Buster, who longs for good love but cannot trust anyone?