Ringo
Ringo came along quite unexpectedly and I was so glad to have him. I was still mourning the loss of Phantom so he was a breath of fresh air in my life. The college I attended had an animal health technology department. They had lots of cats and dogs that they would “practice” on. Well one day the department decided that they had too many animals so they let some go. ( this was the 80's, today I think there would be more control over the treatment of the animals) One of those animals was Ringo. Several people had seen him scavenging through the garbage near the cafeteria. He was extremely cute, a little black and white tuxedo cat. One day It was snowing pretty hard and there he was looking in the garbage for something to eat, well I was smitten, I picked him up put him in my jacket and took him home.
Boy did he have an attitude! He was so full of energy that he would play for hours. One of his favorite things to do was to swing on the curtains. Now he was not supposed to do that of course, but did that ever stop a cat? He would run around the apartment building up speed and then WEEEEEE he would leap up onto the curtain and literally swing like Tarzan! His other favorite thing to do was to jump up on to the counter while I was on the phone or busy, that way I couldn't’t get to him, again the 80's BEFORE cordless phones! One day in particular comes to mind. I was doing the dishes and the kitchen sink looked out to the living room. There was a counter where you could sit and have breakfast. Well Ringo was running around building up speed to swing on the curtains, but at the last minute he decided that he would jump up to the counter. Again I was doing dishes with lots of soapy water. Ringo jumped up hit a place mat and slid right into the sink full of water! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I don't think he jumped up on the counter again for quite a while!
Ringo also loves to eat, his favorite food is chicken, but one day I was cooking dinner inside my apartment, and we could smell something cooking nearby. Sure enough two balconies over my neighbors were grilling steak. Ringo got a whiff of that and disappeared out the door. He climbed up to their balcony, and resembling a scene out of Mission Impossible, Ringo absconded with the steak! Can you believe that? He was still a little tyke, but he was going to have that steak. He ran off into the bush and had a wonderful dinner. The neighbor never did figure out what happened, I’m not telling.
When I moved home I brought Ringo with me, "oh no" thought dad! But even dad's can have a soft place in their hearts for a little kitty. Ringo adjusted well to life in a big house with lots of chairs to sleep on and endless amounts of chicken. He soon became a very spoiled and fat cat! So dad had a plan to get Ringo on an exercise program. Ringo always wanted to go outside, especially when it was snowing, he was a mountain cat after all! Well one day, early in the morning Ringo was meowing at the top of the stairs for someone to let him out! My dad is always up early and boy did he let Ringo out! The cat followed dad into the bathroom so dad just put him out the window onto the garage roof. It had been snowing all night and, well, lets just put it this way, Ringo resembled a fine Austrian skier that day as he “skied” down the roof! After that he always used the bathroom window as his own personal cat door, he just climbs up and down the tree to reach the roof. Hence the exercise program, he was soon a lean, strong cat able to take on ALL the other neighborhood cats!
When I finally moved into my own house, I attempted to take Ringo with me, after all he is mine right? Wrong! He wanted to stay with my mom and dad, why you ask? Because the food is better! He gets his daily dose of chicken over there. So, I reluctantly gave him to my parents. (secretly my dad is smiling, he loves Ringo, just doesn't want all of us to know that) He is very happy with them and gets a wonderful kitty massage (vigorous scratch) from dad everyday. Sadly, Ringo passed away in April 2002, I will always remember him swinging on those curtains and I know he had a loving, happy home.
Ringo came along quite unexpectedly and I was so glad to have him. I was still mourning the loss of Phantom so he was a breath of fresh air in my life. The college I attended had an animal health technology department. They had lots of cats and dogs that they would “practice” on. Well one day the department decided that they had too many animals so they let some go. ( this was the 80's, today I think there would be more control over the treatment of the animals) One of those animals was Ringo. Several people had seen him scavenging through the garbage near the cafeteria. He was extremely cute, a little black and white tuxedo cat. One day It was snowing pretty hard and there he was looking in the garbage for something to eat, well I was smitten, I picked him up put him in my jacket and took him home.
Boy did he have an attitude! He was so full of energy that he would play for hours. One of his favorite things to do was to swing on the curtains. Now he was not supposed to do that of course, but did that ever stop a cat? He would run around the apartment building up speed and then WEEEEEE he would leap up onto the curtain and literally swing like Tarzan! His other favorite thing to do was to jump up on to the counter while I was on the phone or busy, that way I couldn't’t get to him, again the 80's BEFORE cordless phones! One day in particular comes to mind. I was doing the dishes and the kitchen sink looked out to the living room. There was a counter where you could sit and have breakfast. Well Ringo was running around building up speed to swing on the curtains, but at the last minute he decided that he would jump up to the counter. Again I was doing dishes with lots of soapy water. Ringo jumped up hit a place mat and slid right into the sink full of water! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt. I don't think he jumped up on the counter again for quite a while!
Ringo also loves to eat, his favorite food is chicken, but one day I was cooking dinner inside my apartment, and we could smell something cooking nearby. Sure enough two balconies over my neighbors were grilling steak. Ringo got a whiff of that and disappeared out the door. He climbed up to their balcony, and resembling a scene out of Mission Impossible, Ringo absconded with the steak! Can you believe that? He was still a little tyke, but he was going to have that steak. He ran off into the bush and had a wonderful dinner. The neighbor never did figure out what happened, I’m not telling.
When I moved home I brought Ringo with me, "oh no" thought dad! But even dad's can have a soft place in their hearts for a little kitty. Ringo adjusted well to life in a big house with lots of chairs to sleep on and endless amounts of chicken. He soon became a very spoiled and fat cat! So dad had a plan to get Ringo on an exercise program. Ringo always wanted to go outside, especially when it was snowing, he was a mountain cat after all! Well one day, early in the morning Ringo was meowing at the top of the stairs for someone to let him out! My dad is always up early and boy did he let Ringo out! The cat followed dad into the bathroom so dad just put him out the window onto the garage roof. It had been snowing all night and, well, lets just put it this way, Ringo resembled a fine Austrian skier that day as he “skied” down the roof! After that he always used the bathroom window as his own personal cat door, he just climbs up and down the tree to reach the roof. Hence the exercise program, he was soon a lean, strong cat able to take on ALL the other neighborhood cats!
When I finally moved into my own house, I attempted to take Ringo with me, after all he is mine right? Wrong! He wanted to stay with my mom and dad, why you ask? Because the food is better! He gets his daily dose of chicken over there. So, I reluctantly gave him to my parents. (secretly my dad is smiling, he loves Ringo, just doesn't want all of us to know that) He is very happy with them and gets a wonderful kitty massage (vigorous scratch) from dad everyday. Sadly, Ringo passed away in April 2002, I will always remember him swinging on those curtains and I know he had a loving, happy home.
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