As children do and will, they grow up. My sister,
Reba
and her husband
Sam’s son, Steven, after finishing High School went off to college in
Kentucky
. One of
Steven
’s classmates had a beautiful Persian cat. For some reason he had to give it away,
Steven
was the recipient and that was the start of a love affair with felines lasting to this very day.
Steven’s two cats Momo and Bobo, brothers, were featured in Chapter 7.
School over for spring break;
Steven
brought Puffy home to Momma and Poppa. One look at Puffy and they were goners. Puffy needed a companion cat. Not some ordinary adoptable SPCA cat, it had to be pedigreed. Settling upon a Himalayan, from a breeder whose family was famous for a bottled soda. Puffy now had a companion, named Topaz. I have no way of knowing if its eyes, the beautiful deepest blue, influenced the naming. (I only know in those years they spent $175.00 for the cat and its papers).
The cats being much smarter than us mere humans promptly stole their hearts and now were considered newly adopted children. For a number of years all went well, until Puffy contracted a feline illness and its days were numbered. Much money was spent in an unsuccessful effort to cure it. However, sadness and hurt prevailed. I know that to replace the lost cat, Steve
’s parents bought another pedigreed Persian, naming it Missy.
When I went to visit
Reba
and husband
Sam, the cats were not really conducive to my presence in their home. I loved animals, they should have known that, and this was long before I lost my wife and adopted
Frankie
and
Johnnie
. They were not taken with my being. Were they only
Goodman
loving family cats? Just like we humans, cats vary in their personalities. Most dogs as soon as you touch them, more than likely, will begin slobbering all over you. With cats you can never tell.
Unfortunately, Steve’s mother later developed a very serious allergy to cats. The only cure was to give these beautiful, loving felines, their adopted children away to a family that would regard, love and treat them as siblings.
Reba
and
Sam
did not want any recompense; their only wish was a family that would give them the love and care these animals would require. After many interviews, the Goodmans settled upon some people that they felt would meet the obligations necessary to take good care of those beautiful cats. I can safely say, "It was not a pleasant moment, with tears in their eyes, and sadness, and a heavy heart, the
Goodman
“children,” after being held, fondled and kissed, were turned over to the family adopting them." Even today, my sister cannot visit either
Steve
or me in our homes because of her allergies to cats.
