Many of you, that have been reading this blog, know of the story of our precious Lily (of whom the boat will eventually be named after). You can read about her here:
The Name
This story, however, is about another kitty. It begins for us in March 2011. It was a crisp cool day, and a daughter headed out to visit her recently widowed mother. The widow called prior to the departure requesting the daughter bring some kitten food with her, as a surprise had showed up on the front porch steps that morning...
There were always wild cats roaming around the widow's house, and she was constantly throwing out scraps to feed them. There was one wild cat among the rest that did not shy from people. She was a grey and white tabby colored cat that was always too skinny (even when she was pregnant, litter after litter). To my knowledge, she was never given a name, but could always be found hanging around the front porch looking for food or attention. The widow had not seen the cat for awhile, but had heard the mews of kittens under the house (indicating yet another litter had recently been born). But it had been a few weeks since she had heard any mews, or had seen the mother cat. As was common in the woods, predators often found their prey at their weakest, and nature is often cruel. She had assumed the mother and the kittens had fallen prey to some other animal, as she had lost chickens recently too. You can imagine the widow's surprise, as she left her empty porch that morning to get the mail, and returned to find a single kitten placed on the top step to the porch. The kitten did not shy away from the old widow, but instead stared at her with wide eyes. The kitten was only four to five weeks old, and could not have managed to climb the tall steps on it's own. The widow looked around for signs of the mother cat, but found nothing. It would seem the mother cat had left her kitten, this last lone kitten, upon the steps of the porch, trusting the widow would take care of it. We will never know why the mother cat abandoned her kitten, as she was never seen or heard from again. The old widow picked up the kitten, took it into the house, and placed it in a box with water and bedding. She then called her daughter and asked her to bring some canned kitten food with her, when she visited that day.
The daughter arrived with her husband and children a few hours later. Everyone loved the little kitten, and watched it get all messy while it ate the canned food. The children, of course, wanted to take the kitten home, but the daughter already had two older cats at home. She told the children it would be better to leave the kitten with the widow, as she could use something to take her mind off of her recent loss. So the kitten stayed with the old widow and learned to love her as it's new mother. The kitten was named Tiger. He was a brown and black tabby colored cat, with a shorter than average tale. He had a white chin, solid black on the bottoms of his feet, and a black tip on his tail. He adored his new mother, the old widow. He came when she called, he slept by her side in the bed, and followed her everywhere she went. He feared everyone except the old widow. When others would visit, he would hide and even sometimes hiss at them. Tiger would live with the old widow for a year and a half, before his life would change.
The old widow's health was declining, and it was unsafe for her to live alone anymore. So in September of 2012, the old widow decided to go live with her daughter and family. Tiger was loaded into a carrier, and driven to his new home, along with the widow and her possessions. Tiger spent all of his time in the two rooms that had been given to the old women for use (a bedroom, and her own living room). The poor scared cat never left to visit the rest of the two-thousand square foot home. When others would come into the area, Tiger would hide. Tiger was forced to meet two new cats, the older cats that belonged to the daughter. Tiger didn't like them very much, and made it clear they were not allowed into his area. He stayed loyal to his owner, the old widow. He stayed with her night and day, whether she was awake or asleep. Tiger spent eight long months, living in this new life, before events would change again.
In June of 2013, the old widow's health had deteriorated to the point that the daughter could no longer safely take care of her properly. So the old women loaded her possessions into the daughter's vehicle, and was driven to a nursing home. Tiger stood in the hallway and watched the old widow leave. The old widow never looked back, or even told him good-bye. From Tiger's point of view, for some unfathomable reason, his second mother had abandoned him. He was lost. After two long years of knowing nothing but the old widow, Tiger was alone. He cried day and night. The daughter would go and sit with him in the empty bedroom, and talk soothingly to him. After a time, he let the daughter pet him, and he slowly began to investigate the rest of the house. He learned where he fit with the other two cats in terms of hierarchy. He quit hissing at everyone, but stayed skittish. He would let the daughter sit next to him and pet him, but that was as close as he would allow. Then a very peculiar thing happened, Tiger found a friend.
The daughter had two children, a boy and a girl. The children loved their cats, and were constantly seen petting or holding them. Six months after the old widow went away, the second oldest cat (Lily) suffered a stroke. So in December of 2013, after fourteen years as a member of the family, Lily passed away. The boy, who did not like the old widow (nor was he ever liked by the widow), had refused to tell Lily goodbye upon her passing, as he did not want her to go. In his grief, the boy's attention focused on someone else who understood his feelings, Tiger. This unlikely pair (one who adored the widow, and the other who loathed her) had formed an unspoken bond. Tiger would play with the boy, let the boy pet him, and even allow himself to be carried by the boy.
In the summer of 2014, the daughter and her family decided to move and set their life up to be able to travel. Prior to their move, their other older cat passed away. Tiger was now the only pet left. The daughter and her husband considered finding a new home for Tiger, as it would be considerably easier to move and travel without a pet. The boy would not hear of such a thing. He was adamant that Tiger must go. It was explained to the boy that taking a pet with them would be very expensive. The apartment they were moving into would be five-hundred dollars up front, with a pet rent every month (not to mention the costs of traveling). When the boy was asked if the cat was worth all of that, his immediate answer was "Yes." The daughter and her husband could not look into the eyes of their son, and take away someone that was so dear to him. So Tiger moved with the family, into a small apartment.
Tiger learned to live happily, with the daughter and her family, in a small apartment for a little over a year. He allowed everyone in the family to pet him. He was no longer skittish and afraid. There were even moments where Tiger would sit in the daughter's lap and purr. He spent is awake time playing and his sleep time curled up wherever was comfortable. Tiger quit hiding, and lived as one of the family. Tiger was re-trained to use a litter box more suitable for traveling. The time to travel was about to begin, when the exorbitant costs of traveling with a pet surfaced. It was expensive with all of the vet fees, hotel fees, import fees, etc. Documents needed to travel to other countries were both expensive, and difficult to obtain. The thought of finding Tiger a new home surfaced again, but only briefly. The daughter (who, no doubt, was born with entirely too much empathy) could not abandoned Tiger. Tiger had been abandoned twice (one from each of his 'mothers'). The daughter could not stand the thought of Tiger being abandoned again. The circumstances, that placed Tiger where he was, were not his fault. He was merely a victim of events that he had no control over. Tiger had survived those events, and was now a member of a new family.
So, when you think of us traveling the world with a cat, do not question our motives. Tiger will go where we go, and he will learn yet another new set of circumstances. Tiger will become a boat cat and travel the world with his family!
Meet Tiger:
This is how he sees himself ;)
days to go!
