"Puddy"
1979 -1990




Stephanie & Puddy, 1986




Santa Barbara, CA - February 26, 1981.
We found Puddy wandering around near the YMCA tennis courts where Kim taught tennis. I would call him and say "Here, kitty, kitty, I taught I saw a Puddy Tat in the bushes!" I would get a small carton of milk and lure him over and he would devour it.

A few months later, a man jogging around the track yelled over to me; "I've seen you feed that cat before. You should take him home with you, because I know he doesn't belong to anyone".

I asked him how he knew that that, how was he so sure that this cat did not have an owner? He replied: "I jog here twice a day. Once at 6:00 am and the other time at 6:00 pm. That cat is always here trying to catch gophers." That's all I needed to hear! My husband (of exactly a month and a week) had never owned (or been owned by) a cat. He wasn't exactly wild about the proposition. But as usual, I got my way!!

Our vet didn't know what kind of cat Puddy was, but judging by his teeth, he was anywhere from two to five years old. We called him "The King of Beasts" because he was macho and 'lion like' in attitude, probably from the self confidence he gained surviving the wilds on his own.

I entered him in the Fiesta City Cat Show in 1981, because he was so cool looking and I wanted a judge to tell me what kind of cat he was. He had big green eyes, with perfect black eyeliner around them. Huge male head and paws. He was not grey as he may look in a picture. He was SILVER. He was a truly beautiful cat.

It turned out that he was a Silver Shaded American Short Hair with a touch of Silver Tabby. That is blend of two high bred cats. It also turned out that Puddy had Feline Leukemia. But we managed to keep him healthy for the nine years we had him.

He was on his own for quite awhile, as it took about 6 weeks to civilize him. He hid under our bed and we threw roast beef to him, until he finally came out peacefully. The first night we took him home, his eyes started bleeding!! At midnight we ran him to the 24 hour vet, and ran up $200.00 bill.

My husband thought I was crazy paying to fix a stray cat. His corneas were scratched from living in the bushes. He also had some other infections, I remember having to give him many different medications. He was not easy to force feed medications on. It took Kim and Puddy awhile to get used to each other. Kim still has the scars to prove it!!

When the kids were born, he had "nervous breakdown". He was the KING of our household for over two years and now this squawking baby boy named David had all the attention. He lost weight, lost hair, and jumped into and on anything that belonged to David. Crib, stroller, baby blankets, high chair, swing, carry around seat.... Everything. He never forgave us for having kids, but he did tolerate them.

Puddy never let the kids pet him, but he never bit them, either. When they would run towards him, he'd run away. He absolutely would not go to strangers. Puddy was extremely territorial and mainly attached to my husband and myself.

Puddy died in August 1990 due to the Santa Barbara Paint Cave Fire. That fire burned 600 homes in 3 hours. The fire fighters stopped the fire just houses away from ours. He died from smoke inhalation about two weeks after the fire. His lungs were badly damaged and he couldn't recover.

I took him to the vet to be put to sleep and laid him on the table. Then I picked him up and ran out the door. I couldn't do it. The doctor was irritated with me, but I felt like he was my child and I wasn't going to do that to him. I begged the doctor to tell what to do to prolong his life. I force fed him baby food, gave him fluids intravaneously with a needle and maintained a constant two week vigil.

Finally, he looked up at me with all the strength he could muster. The look in his beautiful cat eyes said it all. He wasn't going to get better, he was tired of the indignity and tired of the pain and he asked me very politely to let him go. I took him back to the doctor and held him. It was over very quickly. Then I took him back home and we buried him in the back yard.

To read about Puddy's brush with fame go here.

"Tony"
1963-1978

This cat was my "first love". He was orange and white just like Tony the Tiger. I got him when I was four years old. My dad went to the animal shelter and said that Tony "called" him. He would sleep with me every night and I would take him for rides (under duress) in my String bike's front basket. "Tony Bunny, how's my honey?" He was old when this photo was taken.

October 1971


I wrote this poem on the day that Tony died when I was 19 years old.

Some say he was just a cat,
but there's just no way I'm going believe that.
He was my friend through thick and thin,
He would sit on my lap and I'd scratch his chin.
He was with us for fifteen and a half years
He was a warrior
with a chip off his ear.

Protected his territory
purred me a bedtime story
Made me laugh and made me cry
Now he's gone And I can't understand why.
Tiger orange hair with freckles on his nose
white on his belly and pink little toes.
Bright green eyes that glowed in the dark
He knew no lies and
truth was his mark.

He could carry on a conversation,
loved LeSuer Peas and milk, fish and
crunchies were his ration.
He could be as fast as a jack rabbit
or as lazy as a snail
his greatest joy was Kitten
and she loved to play with his tail.

He was my honey
His name nick name
~ Tony Bunny
So fluffy and furry
The thought of his name my eyes get all blurry.
I loved him so much even though he isn't here
I hold his memory close to me
and in my heart he's near.

Some say he was just a cat
but there's just no way I'm going to believe
that.

Thanks to my mom, Micki, for finding this poem
that I had long forgotten about. A few years ago she gave me
a beautiful 11 x 14 framed picture with this poem and a picture of
Tony super-imposed on it.

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