Tuesdays with Fred - long

I posted a much shorter and far different version of this story last
spring.
David Rorer
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Freddy Bear, aka Fred, or occasionally “Frederick!” is a charcoal
tabby cat with a sweet unassuming disposition and a permanently
worried expression. Fred was born in April 1999, on Cincinnati’s
Eastern Avenue, to a stray that had been taken in by the niece of a co-
worker of mine. The mother was a petite black kitty and this was her
first litter. There were four black and two striped kittens, two
females, one black and one striped. We adopted the black female and
named her Inky Squiggle. Dan, a co-worker of mine, took the striped
male and named him Fred.
For about year and a half, all went well with Fred but as he grew out
of being a kitten, Dan grew tired of him and eventually asked me to
take him in. At our house, Fred spent a few days hiding, but
eventually came out and made friends with our other cats Kitty Bear,
Podly Bear and his sister Inky.
During the next two years, several other stray cats adopted our home
as theirs and while we loved all of our furry children, reluctantly
concluded we had too many. My mother had only one cat and she agreed
to take one of ours. Unfortunately, Fluffy Bear, the first cat did not
work out. Her cat, Tyger had been an only cat from kitten hood and was
unused to having another one around, especially one who was a little
aggressive in his play, as the Fluff was. Because of this, my mother
insisted he was being “mean” to her Tyger and that the Fluff be shut
into one of the bedrooms.
I went to my mother’s house every morning to empty the litter boxes,
fed the cats and spend some time playing with them, but I was only
there for an hour or so. I thought mother was letting the Fluff out of
his room when she got up, however, eventually discovered that she was
only letting him out just before I got to her house. Being shut up by
himself almost all the time was not fair to him and it proved
impossible to convince my mother that the Fluff was not being mean to
her Tyger. So we decided to replace him with the much more laid back
Fred. This arrangement proved to be a success the two cats got along
just fine and my mother seemed to like Fred much better.
Unfortunately, though, by this time, my mother had seriously declined
mentally as well as physically. Although I did take her to the senior
center where she ate lunch every day, the rest of the time she did
little more than sit in a chair listening to a radio or watching
television. She went to bed, or at least to sleep, in the early
evening and the cats were largely left to their own devices. At least,
they had a home, were fed and taken on regular vet visits.
Fred lived with my mother until February, 2008 when finally her health
became so poor, my sister, Lauretta, had to concede that it was
finally time to make good on her long overdue promise, that our mother
could live with her. So Mother went to Columbus to live with Lauretta
and the house was left empty, except for Tyger and Fred.
I knew that this situation could not last, no one else in the family
would take in two more cats and we had seven of our own. I had rescued
Fred and Inky, from the streets, my niece Stephanie had done the same
for Tyger. I could not let them be put out on the street or dropped
off at an SPCA shelter to be euthanized.
For years, I have donated money to The League for Animal Welfare, a no
kill shelter in Clermont County, so I offered a huge donation if they
would take the boys. Though they were over the age limit at which they
usually took cats, the shelter manager said they would take them;
however, I would have to wait until there was room. Therefore, for the
time being they remained at the abandoned house.
After four months my sister decided it was time to do something with
the house and it would be done right now, announcing her plans by
leaving a message on our answering machine: “CALL ME IMMEDIATELY,
SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE ABOUT THOSE CATS!” Not a polite query such
as; “have you had any luck finding the cats a new home, because we
need to move them out of the house,” or “What are you going to do
about the cats we want to start getting the house ready to sell”
merely a preemptory demand that “SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE!”
The impetus was, Rebecca, her youngest daughter who had decided to use
part of her summer vacation to get the house ready for sale. They
thought all it would take was a quick coat of paint and a cleaning of
the carpets though I had warned them that would not be enough. The
house was a disaster; it had suffered from two decades of neglect,
there was serious structural damage from a settling foundation, the
carpet was old and the two cats had peed in all the rooms. When my
niece realized how bad the problem was, she called her mother,
literally crying about how bad the situation was. My sister’s reaction
was to leave another angry phone message telling me; “YOU HAVE GOT TO
GET RID OF THOSE CATS, NOW!”
I had not heard from the shelter so I went there intending to plead
with them to take the boys. Fortunately, the shelter manager had been
about to call to tell me they finally had room and I could bring the
boys over as soon as I wished. Beverly helped me transport the boys to
the shelter and we said goodbye for the time being. I hated to do this
but my only other alternative was to put them in our garage.
The cats had to spend two weeks in isolation but the first morning
they were out, I drove over to the shelter to visit. Tyger was
obviously unhappy and Fred was hiding in a litter box but eventually
they got used to being at the shelter. They are in the picture on the
left. I went to visit every Tuesday and most Fridays, spending about
an hour playing with and talking to the boys and their roommates.
There were eight cats in the room, which also had a covered outdoor
area enclosed in metal fencing.
I was not sure that Tyger would ever find someone to adopt him. He had
trouble adjusting to being with so many other cats and several times,
he had to be put in isolation after getting into fights.
He would bite if someone tried to pick him up but would get in a lap
if the person sat down and let him come to them. Eventually Tyger
mellowed out a bit, and after 10 months an older woman adopted him. I
was told that he followed her around all the time and she absolutely
adored him.
Some aggressive cats picked on Fred and he was moved several times,
but he finally settled in and seemed quite content, even happy.
Several times one of the very young cats adopted Fred as a big
brother, curling up with him to share a bed. Unfortunately, they were
quickly adopted and he seemed to miss them after they were gone. To my
great he surprise became quite a ladies’ man and several times, I
found him sitting on the lap of a volunteer lady, something he seldom
did for me. He did have a quiet and very sweet disposition and several
of the volunteer women commented on what a nice cat he was.
Fred had been at the shelter for almost two years when one morning in
November of 2010 his picture was gone, and Fred was not in his room.
When I asked about him I was told, “Fred went home yesterday.” Shelter
speak for being adopted. His new owner was an elderly woman, who had
no other cats and thought Fred was the best cat in the world. My old
friend, my Freddie Bear, had found a home. I asked after him once and
was told he was doing fine. It was sad not to see him but I was glad
that he had a home and a far far better life than he would have had as
a stray living on the Eastern Avenue riverfront.
Some of the cats who had been Fred’s roommates were still there and In
memory of my old friend, I continued to visit the shelter almost every
Tuesday and Friday, spending about an hour playing and talking to them
and the rotating cast who come and go. The most fun are the young
kittens, I take a flashlight with a red laser with me and a two-month-
old kitten single mindedly chasing that red dot across the floor is
always something to make one smile. Several times the cat or kitten I
have been playing with has been adopted, literally right out of my
hands. I am always glad that the little guy or girl will have a home
but sad that I will never see them again.
Inky, the Fluffy Bear and three other cats continued to live with us
and my sister finally sold the old house for far more than it was
worth. I am still angry with her because of her attitude towards the
two cats and she is angry with me because I would not help fix up the
old house. She refused to reimburse me from the estate for the
donation I gave the shelter. Her comment correctly, it was: “They’re
your cats!” To me they were friends, friends I had vowed to take care
of, who were not to be discarded because they were inconvienent. My
sister and I are not speaking to each other, it is possible that we
will never see or speak to each other again. I am not sure that I
care.
Alas in October of 2011 Freddy Bear returned to the shelter. The
elderly lady he had been living with developed medical issues and her
family brought him back. They currently have him in the front office
area and his photo is back up in the “My Last Hope” area. Poor Fred,
the family who had given him to their mother as a companion said he
was a real nice cat, but they could not keep him. I am glad to see him
again but wonder if he will ever find a forever home.
David Rorer October, 2011

Update on Freddie:
When I went to the shelter this morning they told me that Fred had
been adopted again. He went home last friday.
I hope he has finally found his forever home.
I miss him.

wrote in message
...
Update on Freddie:
When I went to the shelter this morning they told me that Fred had
been adopted again. He went home last friday.
I hope he has finally found his forever home.
I miss him.

I hope he has, too. It doesn't take long to become attached to them. When
my daughter was a preteen, she got a 'job' catsitting for some people while
they went on vacation. The cat stayed with us for two weeks. We were all
sad to see him go, and missed him for a long time.

Joy