In late July of 2003, Asa and I were shopping for cat food in our local Pet Food Express store. We always went on Saturday, when the local cat rescue group was exhibiting cats and kittens for adoption. The last thing on earth that we needed was another cat. I realized that, although my heart had melted when I had first seen Billy, a fragile little waif a couple of weeks before. He was still there that weekend, and I left Asa with him to continue my shopping.
About 10 minutes later, I was at the extreme back corner of the store when Asa appeared, carrying Billy on his shoulders. "He sure is a friendly little guy, isn't he?" Asa said, the identical words he had said 16 years earlier when Asa "allowed Bubba to stay." I knew he was smitten, and the rest, as they say, is history.
We took Billy to the veterinarian the next day after bringing him home. He had a URI (Upper respiratory infection), and had to be isolated from the other cats until it was cured. We accomplished that by keeping Billy in our son Lance's room, however it fell to Asa and I to give him his medications. As a result, it didn't take long for Billy to become Lance's cat, and to this day, he leads Lance around by his nose. Around other humans, myself included, Billy is the original 'fraidy cat.' I am allowed to touch him just briefly in passing, carefully avoiding direct eye contact. On the other hand, he's quite smitten with his own beauty, and deservedly so, as you can see from the accompanying photo.
Even though Billy shies from my touch, I often find him watching me - not in fear, but in apparent interest. Perhaps he, too, is remembering the day we brought him home from that pet food store. As we were finalizing the adoption, a lady pushing a cart stopped and asked, "Oh, are you adopting him?" When I acknowledged that we were, tears sprang from her eyes, and she said, "Oh! I'm so glad. I've been so worried about him." The fact that Billy is normally aloof and full of himself makes me doubly thankful that Asa and I rescued him when we did, as this cat truly deserves a safe and happy home.
