BOOKITTY THE MIRACLE CAT

My wife, Valerie, had been without a cat for almost a year since we moved from Ferndale to Cottonwood. We were in the Christmas Store, run by Judith and her husband for many, many years. Judith rescues cats and her store (which is really the width of three or four stores) is in a 100 year old brick building that still has poles to tie up your horse. My mother-in-law Helen was with us and she approached me and said "your wife is in the other room petting a cat and crying - don't you think it's time?" I went into my wife who was kneeling down by an antique love-seat petting a rather large cat and indeed she was crying. I sighed and agreed that it was time.

Later that week my wife went back to the store and Judith wanted to give her two little orange and white cats, but they were too wild and crazy. Judith reached down behind the counter and picked up a large black cat that was covered in leaves and various mystery substances and said "How about this one, his name is Blackie"? Valerie and Blackie made eye contact and agreed that he was the one and brought him home. The first thing that went was his name and Blackie became Boo or Bookitty.

It was late in the evening. I had been watching TV in the bedroom and decided to make a fridge run for some ice water. I was wearing a loose robe and that was all and was walking through the living room, heading back. Little did I know that BooKitty was stalking me and just when I got to the hallway, he jumped up and grabbed me around the back of tthe upper thigh. I screamed very loudly - he dissappeared instantly, and I guess it scared him so much that he never did that maneuver again. I laugh to myself every time I think of it.

About 2 1/2 years ago we noticed that BooKitty had a growth on his front leg, so we took him to our Vet and they did some tests. They found out that it was a malignant tumor and that he also had a large mass growing in his stomach. I had been watching the Lakeland Revival on God TV and was in "praying mode", so every time I thought of it I would pray over Boo and I remember him loving it. A couple of weeks later we took him back for a check-up and The Vet doctor said that she wasn't sure what had happened but that BooKitty didn't have any growth's in his stomach and seemed to be cancer free. We were delighted and BooKitty has been well ever since.

BooKitty has a litter box out in the far corner of the garage. There is a kitty door that allows him garage access. After using his litter box, for some reason, that only a cat would understand, he dives from the garage through the kitty door and traveling at the speed of light runs through the house, down the hallway and makes an amazing left turn through one of the bedroom doorways. He does this at least once a day and it used to startle me, but I think I'm ok with it now......

BooKitty started as an outside cat. He then moved into my wife's attached beauty salon. Slowly he infiltrated into the house and now he totally owns it. He even had his own cat condo, which he totally destroyed with very sharp claws - so, of course, we got him a brand new one for Christmas this year.

He has also been intensively working on my "training" program. At my bedtime, he makes me give him (1) some sort of ribbon that comes out of a tube. He says it's for fur balls (whatever that is). Then he gives me that "look" and makes me give him eight Pary Mix treats, which he prefers to be scattered over the floor. When this nightly ritual is done he leaves the area and marches down the hall. I think I hear him muttering "suckaaa" but I could be wrong about that.