| The story of Kitty Buddy Guy |
|
Kitty Buddy Guy, also known as Kitty Buddy or simply KBG,
entered our world in 2007.
He was one of many offspring from a stray cat known as
Mama
who discovered our fenced sanctuary sometime around 2004 or 2005.
Before it was clear that this cat was one of her flock and that he intended to stay in our yard, we referred to him as Puffy-Clone due to his similarity to a close relative, Puffy The photo below from May 23, 2012 shows KBG looking in through the basement window from which I serviced the outdoor cats' shelter and daily needs. |
|
| September 1, 2007 |
| Kitty Buddy stands in front of the Anderson Erickson milk receptacle on our front porch. This is one of the earliest photos of KBG. I like how the lighting and angle make his eyes appear to be different colors. |
|
| May 9, 2008 |
| KBG is sunning inside a protective tomato cage on the chip pile by the blue shed. |
|
|
May 12, 2009 |
| Kitty Buddy Guy became very comfortable with my car hobby and the exploration avenues it provided. Here he is lounging comfortably in the trunk of 1978 Plymouth Sapporo #13300. |
|
|
December 14, 2010 |
| All three of my outdoor kitties are snuggling inside the original version of their shelter. Note the corrugated metal sides, plywood end wall, carpeted floor and an assortment of blankets for them to arrange as needed. Mister Three is alert, KBG is curled in front, and Mama is burrowed in on the left. |
|
|
June 13, 2011 |
| The three banditos are sunning together on the vinyl roof of 1978 Plymouth Sapporo #11867. |
|
| Ten days later they're together on the blue tarp covering my Dixon Ram 50 ZTR mower next to the Sapporo. |
|
|
August 9, 2011 |
| KBG (right) is laying peacefully next to his brother Mister Three on the driveway. I have countless pictures of these siblings snuggling, rubbing against each other, and butting heads playfully. They were good companions for each other. |
|
|
November 1, 2011 |
| On October 31, 2011, Mister Three was hit by a car and died in the street in front of our house. The next day we buried him while Kitty Buddy Guy and Mama watched from a distance. Kitty Buddy is barely discernible on top of the hill in the upper left. I have no idea if they understand what has happened. |
|
|
June 4, 2012 |
| KBG (front) is over five years old here and he's no longer a match for the younger, tougher and less civilized cats who prowl the outdoors. He got worked over a little, presumably by another cat, and is recuperating alongside his mother in a pet carrier. If you zoom in you can see minor scratches on his face. |
|
|
November 14, 2012 |
| This time my little lion of the yard was not quite so lucky when he tussled with something outdoors. A puncture wound to the left cheek became infected, leading to the installation of a Penrose drain (don't look that up during mealtime). He spent a week indoors wearing the cone of shame and was fortunate to live to tell about it. Here he's resting on Amy in her blue robe. |
|
|
January through June, 2013 |
| January 5: The first of three documented tree-climbing escapades which fueled my fears about KBG hurting himself on fences or in trees. He is on the evergreens along the north fence line. |
|
| Tree climb #2, April 15. Kitty Buddy Guy fancies himself the owner of this barren tree. |
|
| Tree climb #3, June 10. This is in the forest around the stream to our east. |
|
|
April 12, 2013 |
| Though born and raised outdoors, KBG's disposition was remarkably docile and conducive to my taming efforts. Starting around 2012 he would occasionally come into our house via the east service port windows, jumping down about three feet from the window sill to the basement floor. Sometimes he would investigate for ten minutes and want to go back out. Other times he would come in, circulate, then nap for an hour or more. Eventually this escalated to spending the night inside, usually on my office chair at the desk. By morning he was ready to go back out but was rarely anxious about the wait. This domestication was accelerated by several medical incidents that required him to be inside for several days each. Below he is sleeping contentedly on the basement office table. |
|
| Kitty Buddy spent a lot of time on my office chair in the basement, sometimes solo and sometimes behind me while I was seated. This image captures the essence of KBG throughout all stages of his life. |
|
|
December 10, 2013 |
| Look at the belly on this cat. He is continuously provided quality food and clean water. There is no reason for him to be killing and eating rabbits. But he did. He couldn't help it. This is the least gruesome photo I have which still conveys the cocky casualness with which Kitty Buddy boasted of his kills. The rabbit is a little difficult to discern from the snow and leaves on the concrete. |
|
|
March 19, 2014 |
| Over five years before becoming indoors full-time, KBG's occasional visits indoors were enough to win acceptance from indoor cat Casper, though here Kitty Bud isn't quite sure how he feels about being licked. |
|
|
October 9, 2014 |
| Kitty Buddy Guy on the hood of Amy's 2009 Hyundai Elantra. |
|
|
September 13, 2015 |
| Amy's efforts to gain Kitty Buddy's trust are paying off. This is one of the earliest photos showing him allowing Amy to pick him up and hold him. |
|
|
August 25, 2019 |
| This is the fateful day that Kitty Buddy Guy got seriously poked in the eye, leading to his imminent conversion to an indoor-only cat. I happened to be out and about with a camera when KBG and Mama were meandering in the woods on the far side of the stream. This is almost certainly the general area and time when he got injured. |
|
| Later in the day KBG returned to his home and was captured on surveillance. I do not know for sure if he was already injured at this time, but I think it is likely. After seeing him squinting severely I brought him inside and determined that he needed to go to the vet. |
|
|
August 26, 2019 |
| Thought we didn't know it for sure at the time, this marks the start of Kitty Buddy Guy's new life as a strictly indoor cat. A few days after the initial exam it became evident that the eye injury was worse than originally thought. |
|
| On September 19, 2019 Kitty Buddy came home after three weeks of care at the vet. Yes, this photo is from when he was BETTER. It took several more months for the eye to clear up and approach normalcy. |
|
|
November 13, 2019 |
| My little buddy went through an agonizing period of adjustment. He cried and howled for months to go back outside. His mother called out for him and searched for him for weeks. I was riddled with guilt. KBG's transition was aided by the warm acceptance of Casper The Ambassador who is snuggling behind Kitty Buddy on the couch with Amy. |
|
|
February 2020 |
| Even wary Clementine (left) has accepted the newcomer, though she probably always suspected some sleight of hand, given that Monkey died on August 9 and was replaced with a similar and related cat just five weeks later. This February 3 image of Clementine, KBG (top) and Casper (right) feeding together has been my mobile's wallpaper for years. |
|
| February 11. The three kitties are sharing some catnip on the cardboard half-pipe (You & Me #2365409 chaise cardboard scratcher, Petco 2921612) which was a favorite spot of Monkey's. The family that dopes together stays together. |
|
|
July 30, 2020 |
| Kitty Buddy is in the basement resting in what used to the backup shelter from the blue shed. After the Mama kitty died on July 24th, I began dismantling all of the infrastructure that supported the outdoor cats and moved this little nook indoors. This large plastic tote has carpeted walls and an assortment of textiles in the bottom. Noteworthy is the blue plaid nightgown which was one of my favorite garments until it became too torn and shabby to wear. |
|
|
August 22, 2020 |
|
After a year indoors, KBG is well-assimilated.
The Gang of Three looks up from the basement stairs.
(Casper left, Clementine middle, KBG right) |
|
|
June 6, 2021 |
| Kitty Buddy has been inside for almost two years and life is good. He has generally accepted the confinement, he's become Casper's play companion, hyperthyroidism is managed, and kidney disease has not yet become evident or serious. His right eye looks nearly normal now. Amy and Greg take turns holding their tender little buddy friend. |
|
|
|
September 25, 2021 |
| Kitty Buddy Guy is curled around the top of Amy's head while they sleep. |
|
|
March 24, 2022 |
| Kitty Buddy has found Casper's mountaintop command post in a box on top of a pile of boxes. This is Casper's favorite lair but he doesn't seem to mind that KBG visits it occasionally. |
|
|
December 28, 2022 |
| It is becoming undeniable that my once strong and vibrant cat is becoming a delicate and needy old man. He's lost some more weight and feels bony. By early January I thought he was a goner. Turns out I had been slacking on the thyroid medicine and after getting that under control again he put back on about a half pound over the next six months. He has spent many hours napping on the blue heating pad while I work at the computer. |
|
|
August 19, 2023 |
| I don't know why we have almost no photos of Kitty Buddy from January to August. The clouding in his right eye is severe, the result of cataracts compounded by the severe injury four years earlier. Even his good eye is weary. In his last month or two he began withdrawing, not quite hiding, but spending most of his time alone upstairs sleeping. He had better days and worse days, but no great days. Kitty was becoming too tired to go on. By the weekend of the 19th he stopped eating and we realized it was time. |
|
|
August 21, 2023 |
| When we were down to three cats, I enhanced their cardboard carriers by attaching a photograph of the contained cat to help ensure there was no mix-up. Kitty Buddy's box is staged for his last trip to vet. The ID card photo taken on August 17, 2020 is below. |
|
|
|
August 21, 2023 |
| Amy looks lovingly on Kitty Buddy as we steel ourselves for the imminent thankless task. |
|
|
August 21, 2023 |
| The journey to the veterinarian and back took about an hour. |
|
|
|
August 21, 2023 |
|
Baby's home and ready to be laid to rest in my tattered plaid nightgown.
As we were in the middle of a brutal weeklong heat wave,
we had done the plot prep the previous morning to make today easier.
|
|
|
|
|
September 22, 2023 |
| I published the first draft of this tribute page. Later this month I intend to have a stone marker carved as I have done for several previous pets. I often referred to Kitty Buddy Guy as my little lion of the yard. I summarize his time on Earth: |
|
He came in like a lion
and went out like a lamb. |