No matter how much cats fight.........

...there always seems to be plenty of kittens.

-Abraham Lincoln

Toby (L) and Mr. Creme (R) almost 8 weeks old

In March of 2000, Jezibel had her seven babies; five boys (Toby, Mr. Creme, Grady, Pinto and Panda) and two girls (Lexi and Ellie). We found good homes for four of the boys. Brian took Mr. Creme and Toby; Kim took Pinto, and Minerva took Panda. We kept Lexi, Ellie and Grady.

Everyone picked up their kitten(s) when they were 8 weeks old. All who adopted a kitten were co-workers. I had regular “reports” on how they were doing.

One day Brian told me that the house he was renting, was up for sale and he would have to move. He asked if I would be willing to take the kittens until he could find a place to live. He was going to have to move in with his parents until then. I had always told him that I would take the kittens if he needed help, rather than have them go to the shelter.

He delivered Mr. Creme and Toby to me when they were about 9 months old. I kept them away from our other cats for several weeks. Brian had not had them declawed, so they tore at the carpet by the door, trying to get out of the room.

Finally, I decided to let them out and introduce them to the other cats. These two were so mellow. Brian had really done a good job raising them. There were some tense moments when the cats all ganged up on the newcomers. No matter that they were sons or brothers. But, they did settle in and we really didn’t have any more problems. We called Mr. Creme and Toby “The Beach Boys”, because Brian lived in Pacific Beach.

Charlie was back on the east coast going to school during this time. The kittens had their first birthday party on March 22, 2001. Minerva brought Panda, Kim brought Pinto, and Brian’s cats, Mr. Creme and Toby, were already here. Everyone had a nice time. Of course, we ate the cake, but it did have their names on it.

In May 2001, I was going back to visit with Charlie over the Memorial Day weekend. Brian had found a house to rent in Imperial Beach, but he had not said anything to me about getting the cats back. So, one day I told him I was going out of town and if he wanted the cats back, he would have to get them before I left. Otherwise, he’d have to wait until I returned. He decided to come and get them. Maybe he thought I was pressuring him to get the cats, but I wasn’t. They were fine with me and no problem. I just assumed he wanted them and maybe felt he couldn’t ask for them.

When he arrived, he came in and sat down on the floor. Mr. Creme and Toby were on the stairs. They didn’t know him, but we got them to come down. He spent a few minutes with them and then it was time to go. I helped him take them out. He didn’t have a carrier. They were just loose in the car and they were very agitated. I kept asking if he wanted to borrow one of our kennels. He said they were fine. He always carried them like this.

Brian always knew that the first thing I would say to him was “How are the boys?” so when he came in the office he would always say “The boys are fine”, before I could say anything to him. But, they were not allowed in the house he had rented. They stayed on an enclosed patio. Before, they had been raised in the house with Brian and his son. The pictures he showed were of typical, spoiled, lazy cats.

We moved to Virginia in August, 2002. I kept in touch with all of my friends here, and of course with Brian, since he had two of Jezibel’s babies. In October or November, he emailed me that he was moving to Hawaii and said he was trying to find a home for “the boys”. I was concerned, but I told him I hoped he could keep them together if he could. We went back and forth and finally he said that he really didn’t think he would be able to find a home for them before he left. He asked if I would like to have them back.

It just so happened that Charlie and I were planning on coming to San Diego in early December. Charlie had meetings and I was coming along. So, after Charlie agreed, I told Brian to please get the boys up on their shots, etc. and also I’d like to have them declawed before bringing them home with us. He set the appointment up and delivered them to the vet and got that taken care of.

We came out to San Diego and were here for a week. Then, on Sunday, it was time to pick up the boys and go to the airport. We had not seen Mr. Creme and Toby since Brian picked them up at our house that day.

When we got to Brian’s house, he was not there, but his front door was open. He was moving out so the house was empty. I had talked to him earlier and he said to just go in and he would be there soon. We went through the house and out to the back patio, which was enclosed. There were the boys. They were so pretty and friendly. Just dying for attention. We spent some time with them and then heard Brian come in. We talked for a few minutes and then put the boys in the kennel in which they would fly to Virginia. They would still be “The Beach Boys” because we were bringing them to Virginia Beach. Brian would be off to Hawaii the next day.

I could tell he was upset and he really loved those cats. But, he was flip and joked and I think he probably was keeping the sadness inside. I know he took good care of those cats. They wouldn’t have been so sweet and friendly otherwise. He and his son did a good job of caring for them and I’ll always be grateful to him because he cared enough about them to give us a chance to take them back, rather than take them to the animal shelter or let them loose like some people do.

I don’t know where Brian is and haven’t been in touch with him since we took the boys back to Virginia with us. Hindsight is 20/20. If I had it to do over, I would not have told him that he had to come and pick up the cats when I was going on my trip. I’m sure he would not have asked to have the cats back. He knew they would have to spend their time on the patio and not in the house with him and he didn’t really want that. But, he didn’t tell me that and since I would have been dying to get one of my cats back, I thought that’s how he felt too.

Charlie's brother, Jeff, playing with cats in Virginia

Grady, Mr. Creme, & Toby

Things weren’t the same this time when Mr. Creme and Toby were introduced to our other “little angels”. They did not like "the Beach Boys" and they never were accepted like they’d been when they were younger and with us before. More later...........