My Story - Part 2

Every day when Dad came home from work now, he asked about Junior.

For a couple of days, Mom fed Junior bits of leftover chicken, until she could go to the store and buy him some Cat food. Then she put the Cat food in a bowl and put the bowl in the back yard. Junior would come and eat it, but the other Cats would come and eat it too, especially Whitey Tiger Tail, who would chase Junior away.

Gradually Mom moved the bowl closer and closer to the house. Junior was nervous about this at first, but gradually he began to feel safe close to the house, and the humans wouldn’t let Whitey Tiger Tail or Tough Guy near his bowl when they were around. Mom was finally able to move the food bowl into the carport next to the back door. There, the humans could keep an eye on it, and Junior knew he always had something to eat. Whenever he wanted a drink, he helped himself to the bird bath.













As winter approached and the weather began to get colder, Dad started to worry that Junior would be too cold at night. He didn’t want a Cat in the house, so he fixed up a cardboard box for Junior to sleep in. He chose a cozy sized box with high sides to protect Junior from the cold wind. Then he put a scrap of carpeting in it and some old towels to keep Junior warm. When he was satisfied with it, he put it in a secure spot on top of a pile of boxes in the carport, so Junior could climb up high and feel safe.

Junior loved his bed. He would sleep in it at night and sit in it and look around during the day when he wasn‘t off hunting and exploring. Sometimes he would just sit there and watch the other Cats passing through the carport. They never seemed to notice that he was there.

One day Whitey Tiger Tail discovered Junior’s box. He jumped up into it, sniffed it all over, and then sprayed it. After that Junior never got into his box again.

Whitey Tiger Tail always seemed to be on the lookout for Junior and would chase him away whenever he saw him. But Junior knew that if Mom or Dad or the human kids were around, they would protect him from Whitey Tiger Tail and he would be safe.

One day Mom heard a desperate, wailing meow from right outside the back door. She ran to the door and threw it open. There at eye level, was Junior, who had climbed up the screen door and was hanging onto it for dear life. She saw Whitey Tiger Tail too, slinking away under the next door neighbour’s bushes.

After that Dad decided that Junior would be safer if he could come inside. So the humans began to invite Junior in. At first, Junior wasn’t too sure about being in the house. He was polite, but he kept an eye on the back door. He was very happy to find his bowl of Cat food beside the door, but he was too nervous to eat. So Mom kept talking to him with a gentle voice and he finally settled down to eat some food.

After a few minutes Mom’s Audubon bird clock stuck noon. The 12 o’clock bird was a great horned owl. It hooted the noon hour loudly and Junior panicked. Mom opened the door and let him out real quick. And that was his first visit.