Kingsford

I got my first cat once I moved out on my own. After a year or so of working and having an empty place, I decided that I needed a warm fuzzy critter to take up some empty space in my place and life. As a kid, I always liked cats and dogs. I decided that cats would be better suited to apartment life.

One day I decided to go sky diving to try something new. It was tandem skydiving, so I had an experienced jumper hooked up to me, or to be more precise, I was hooked up to him.

While at the airport, I saw some child who had a box of kittens about two months old. There they were, 6 or 7 little furry critters just mewing up a storm. I looked at them and saw one little kitten who was just wailing away, not happy at all. She was a little black and white bicolor with a little black goatee under her chin. She had a white snout with a black nose. She looked so cute that I had to have her. I took her. She was one noisy little kitten.

I got home and went to the local pet store to get a litterbox and food. Since she looked so young, I called a vet to see what I should do. He told me to get KMR and hand feed her if she couldn't drink out of a bowl. Fortunately, she could drink out of a bowl. She cried and cried and cried even when she was cuddled on my lap. She would follow me as if she had an umbilical cord attached to me. I would pamper her and talk with her. She would hop in the bed with me and then curl up in such a way that I couldn't move without moving her. She then reached out with her right paw and put it on me. She finally went to sleep that first night. I took her to the vet the next weekend. She was given a clean bill of health.

I had to come up with a name for her. I thought to myself for an hour or so. I then said "Aha, I got her while sky diving. Why not call her Skye." That is how I named her. I kept her for several years until I moved. A few months later, a neighbor was going to the local pound to drop off his kitten because the kitten bit his son. The son was all of two years old and decided to pull the cats tail. Of course, the cat didn't take kindly to the tyke using his tail as a pull toy and decided to protest this undignified treatment. Well, when I saw the little gray and white kitten, which was about 3 months old, and heard him mewing, I instantly fell in love with him. He was a tomcat and a little hellion on four legs. I said to myself, "This cat isn't going to the pound and possibly be euthanized just because some child decided to use him as a pull toy". So I said I would be happy to take the kitten for myself. That is how I got him.

Now that I had him, I wondered what to name him. I talked with my brother who was my roommate at the time and asked him what should I name him. He said that since he is charcoal gray with white, why not name him after charcoal. Charcoal didn't sound quite right, so he said "KINGSFORD!" When my brother said that, the cat looked up and said in his own feline way, "I like that". So the name stuck.

I bought him into my apartment to introduce him to Skye. Skye went into the full "hisspit" routine. She would bat him around to tell him that she was the top cat in this house. He listened and decided that this big cat should be left alone. Things went great after that. Well, after a few months of growing he realized that he was bigger than Skye. Just to spite her, Kingsford would chase her and pounce on her to prove who was the boss. It worked. Skye decided to defer to Kingsford.

Well, once Kingsford matured and Skye went into heat, I soon had three squealing little kittens. Well, I can tell you that my life was not the same after that. With five cats, three of which were hyperactive little fuzzballs going at warp 3, I became enamored with cats. I kept the kittens for three or four months. The names of the kittens were Trouble, Turbo, and Smoke. Smoke was the only female. Trouble and Turbo were twin males and they lived up to their names.

After a few months of being unemployed in California I moved to Virginia and could only keep three cats. After cogitating over which to keep, I decided with much hesitation to keep Kingsford, Trouble and Smoke. I called the local humane societies and they suggested that I call a lady who specialized in fostering cats and finding them good homes. I also found, on my own, a fellow worker who wanted a cat. I gave him Turbo. He was a nice guy and seemed to have a good heart, so I felt comfortable with him.

Since Skye was through nursing the kittens, I got her fixed and updated on all her vaccines. I also had the two remaining kittens fixed. I was fortunate to get a discount from the vet who knew the "Cat Lady". After a few days, I took the two kittens and Skye to the Cat Lady. She was going to find Skye a home and keep the two kittens until I could have them shipped to me in Virginia. Within three days, she had found Skye a home with an elderly lady who had a virtual twin of Skye. Her cat had run away and never came back. When she saw Skye, she took to her right away. I felt great that Skye was going to someone who would smother her with love and affection, and spoil her rotten. Skye, as much as I cared for her, was not a sociable cat. She needed to be the only cat in the house. I was happy that she had found her second "one true owner".

I was going to keep the two kittens with Kingsford but one day in Virginia I got a call from the Cat Lady who was keeping the kittens until I could have them sent over. She told me she had found a home for the two kittens. A friend had come over and the two kittens had jumped in her lap. She had just lost a cat after an earthquake. I guess the two kittens sensed that she needed some companionship. I said since fate had intervened, give the two kittens to her. Afterwards, I mentally said goodbye to the kittens. A tear or two ran down my cheeks, but they had found a good home. I was happy that they and their mother had found good homes.

I still had Kingsford. I went over to him and picked him up and gave him a hug. For a couple years, he was my only cat. However, once I moved back to California, that didn't remain true for very long.

Copyright © William T. Chandler
July 24, 1998