Boy started life in Hawayrd California, perhaps as someone's pet or as one of the several stray cats living in my neighborhood. Last summer in early June when it was well into the 90's and 100's Boy started to come around, showing curiosity at several houses on my street. Obviously looking for a cool shady place under bushes and perhaps looking for food. Unable to ignore him, I decided to do my best to befriend him and offer him food. He was looking malnourished and quite hungry, he was emaciated and skinny, with his ribs starting to show.

Not more then a minute after setting a bowl of tuna down on the ground and Boy started eating. Two very small kittens came scurrying up and started scarfing the tuna as well. Boy stopped eating, looked up at me and without a sound, I could see he was saying Thank you! The two kittens tagging along with him were obivously his, oddly enough the mother was not to be found anywhere. One of them was black and white, the other a Siamese, and also very skinny. Over the the next few months I continued leaving food and water for the three of them, slowly gaining their trust. After 3 months of keeping an eye on them I decided to try and find homes for them. I was lucky enough to find a home for the kittens, unfortuantely while I was at work, the Siamese kitten was attacked by a neighbors dog while they were moving out and died in the yard across the street. one of the neighbors kids told me what happened. I burried it in the yard fairly deep to avoid other animals from finding it or a gardener from accidentally digging it up. An unfortunately event considering I had found it a home and was going to take both the kittens the next day. Not detrerred, the black and white kitten, now named Figaro, now has a new home with a loving owner. It is without a doubt that Boy is his father as they have  similar personalities. Figaro is now about a year and a half old and doing very well.

Unable to find anyone willing to take in a semi-feral un-neutered cat. I deciding to take Boy in myself. Over the next year I was able to earn his trust and affection. Still living in Hayward and letting him roam outside until night time, Boy managed to get into 2 fights and get some pretty serious bites on his hind legs. The first vet trip was a week before Xmas at 3am when he had finally come home, limping and in obvious pain. Not really familiar with 24 hour vets in Hayward, I drove all the way to San Francisco and took him to Pets Unlimited to get him fixed up. The next incident was a month later...this time I took him to a vet that was near by and decided it was time to get him neutered, get all his shots and get both his legs looked at and dressed up....again.

Boy and I have since moved from Hayward back to San Francisco (closer to work for me).  It's been a month so far and Boy is adapting well to his new home. He's not too happy about not having full unsupervised time in the back yard. But he does enjoy what time I allow him out there. I'd let him out more, but the fences don't allow him an easy way to get back over to his yard. I have to climb over, get him and take him back with me.

Without a doubt, if I had not started leaving food and water out for Boy and his kittens, they would have died in the blistering heat last summer. I am sad that I could not get the second kitten to a new home soon enough. But I glad that Boy and Figaro have good homes and live comfortably.

Boy loves to ambush me when ever he can, hiding under the bed, behind laundry baskets, even in plain sight. he jumps out and latches on to my lower leg.