I can see him still, long, tall, lean and shiny black, with a tail longer than any cat had a right to have. He had a lovely triangular face with the most gorgeous and huge green eyes set in a white mask with a tiny black nose. He was quite a character, my Toby.
He came to me from a friend, tiny and tetchy and full of spunk.
That first day, my neighbor came up to visit and see him. His German shepherd, who had cats, came with him. Duke went up to Toby, sniffed him, then licked his nose.
That was an affront Toby would not tolerate from such a stranger. He reared back and smacked Duke on the nose (soft paw, of course). I held my breath, Duke could take Toby in one bite...but not to worry, Duke just sat back and wagged his tail. From that point on we knew who was Boss.
There is no organization to these memories...they just come, so bear with me. He was always an opinionated animal, who gave you one chance to get the idea. Once he was sitting in my lap while I was cross-stitiching and mewed softly to let me know he was hungry. I said, "Just a minute, let me finish this row." At that point he got up on his hind legs, put his front paws on my shoulder and yowled in my ear at the top of his lungs. I guess he didn't think I heard him the first time (-:. Needless to say, the row didn't get finished and the bowl was filled. He always arrived post haste when he heard the can opener....once, in my apartment, he came flying down the hall and reached the kitchen just as I opened the 'fridge door colliding with it head-on. It never fazed him, he just ran around it and sat, waiting at his bowl.
He was always playful...leaping down on my shoulder from the top of the fridge.
Jumping out from a door to slap my ankles and run. He was always seeking new challenges as well. One day I watched, holding my breath, as he went in one leap from the floor to the top of the kitchen cabinets. I'm positive he did it just to see if he could..he never did it again, always after going from floor to counter to fridge to cabinet.
Once he leapt from the floor to the top of the bathroom door, balancing on the edge. That, too, was a one-time occurrence.
He was always possessive of mom and of his home. One Christmas I went to visit some friends who had a Yorkie. The little fella was affectionate and all over me. I went home that evening and sat down. Toby jumped to my lap, sniffed up one arm, then the other. He then backed off and sat on the arm of the chair. I reached out to pet him and he actually smacked my hand, jumped down, turned his back and ignored me, his tail twitching in annoyance. (You've not been ignored, until you've been ignored by a cat).
That only lasted about ten minutes, of course, then we were friends. Although always an inside cat (of course), Toby was not above protecting his territory. A young cat had moved in across the street and would occasionally come visit me when I got out of the car. On this day, the young fella was on the porch when I opened the front door. Toby was sitting right there as the door opened. Completely without thought, he flew out the door after that "other"cat and chased him all the way to the street. Once the intruder was taken care of, Toby looked around and suddenly realized where he was....his eyes got big as he looked around as if to say....Oh my God!..he started to slink down the driveway...I went out and got him, all the while telling him how wonderful a protector he was.
These are just a few of my memories....he was my beloved cat and I will never forget him.....
