When my people adopted Punchy Callahan, he looked Pretty Damned Bad; he looked like a freshly beaten-up old tom, though the vet said he thought that what Punchy'd actually had a fight with was a car's fan belt.

Scabs and scars and shaven patches and bandages and one lopped over ear (which stayed that way for the rest of his life).

On top of all that, though the vet *said* he really was a pure-bred flame point Siamese (though how he'd know for sure is beyond me), he was built more like a bulldog. Or a rather squat and bulky old coffee table, maybe.

And he was the worst (best?) love-bug I ever met. Loved attention, wanted to be petted or at least held every minute of every hour of every day.

He was in heaven when he was "reading" with Pappy; he'd sit with his hindquarters on whichever arm Pappy was using to hold his book, his front paws on Pappy's shoulder and his head tucked into the side of Pappy's neck. He'd happily stay that way for hours on end, singing in Pappy's ear the whole time.

Punchy was "Pappy's cat"; he just kinda... faded away, after Pappy died. We loved him too, of course, but we just weren't enough for him, I guess. He wanted Pappy... And I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Pappy wanted him, too.

Pappy named him -- he said that Punchy looked like an old pug. ("Pug" meaning "pugilist" -- an old, used-up heavyweight boxer, the kind that've been in the ring so often that they're permanently punch-drunk.)

Punchy was a butter, too -- he had a *very* hard head, and he didn't know his own strength. He darned near knocked me out once -- literally. I saw stars!

We've almost always adopted older cats; we like 'em, and they have a harder time finding homes than kittens do, sooo...

Clarissa and Pestiferous are kinda an aberration for me, but they needed someplace to go Right Then, and I was down to only one cat, having lost Princess and Newpie in rather quick succession.

Out of all the many cats we've had, only four before Pestie came to us as kittens, and *they* were unplanned-for strays. They chose us, more than us choosing them -- that sign on the door saying "Cat suckers live here", y'know.

It really is too bad that more people can't see the joys of an older cat, in my opinion.

Copyright © Janice Munday
April 29, 2001