Monroe's Page

Monroe, a black and white male Tuxedo Cat, is our nine year old baby. His mother was pregnant with him when she was "dropped off" at my friend Kellie's house. We all took to leaving food outside for her, although she wouldn't let anyone near herto pet her or pick her up.

She soon gave birth to her kittens in a wood pile in Kellie's backyard. As the kittens came of age, we made several fruitless attempts to catch them and find them a good home. We finally caught them with a milk crate, a stick, some weed-wacker wire and a bowl of milk. It wasn't as bad as it sounds.

We set up the trap (the crate and the stick), put the bait (bowl of milk) underneath the crate and tied the weed-wacker wire to the stick and ta-da we caught him and the others. Being as wild as they were, you couldn't even hold them except at arm's length. It was quite an adventure. I decided then and there to keep that little black and white boy all to myself.

My next problem was how to convince "the momma" (my mom that is) to let me keep him. I smuggled him into my basement bedroom after the much adventuous ride home. I hid him well for a day or so, until my dad found him. He was a little calmer by then, but still very scared of humans. Of course, dad has a big heart for animals like kittens and puppies. He wanted me to keep him as much as I did. We finally convinced mom to let him stay.

Being raised the first couple of months in a wood pile had quite an effect on his personality. He is very shy and has been only close to me. My parents nicknamed him the "Mushroom Cat" because for the first year he never came up those basement stairs. When he finally did he would just stick his head around the corner and fly back down the stairs. After a year or so he came upstairs quite regularly and visited for a while. He soon learned what sunshine was again and decided he liked it! He then slowly became used to the rest of the family. I have since married and moved out on my own, taking Monroe with me. My husband didn't like Monroe at first because of his "loner" personality. Monroe always came to me and would run from him. My other cat, Dusty, immediately bonded with my husband. So then we have a family!

Tragedy struck us on November 4, 1998, and we had to put Dusty to sleep. She was my first cat and I had had her for 22 years. We were all in mourning for quite a while. I think Monroe knew what happened. He kept smelling her bed, looking for a trail. He howled all hours of the night and day, looking for her. He misses her a great deal, but is recover- ing from his heartbreak along with the rest of us. My pets are a great deal of comfort and joy for me.

Monroe turned nine years old in the spring of 1999. He is healthy (except for a few fur balls now and then) and happy. Quite fat too may I add! We are trying to do something about his weight, currently he is about 18 pounds, but he no longer goes outdoors and is unable to get the activity he used to.

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This page was last updated on July 10, 1999