Spartacus – The Wander Kitty

Spartacus, The Wander Kitty found us at the end of July last year.  He was barely weaned from his mother, but dumped near our home. It was during a rainy period so he found shelter under our car. I discovered him one morning as I was leaving for a doctor’s appointment. 

As I approached the car, I could hear a tiny ‘meow’ emanating from under the back near the trunk.  I could not seem to find where he was, but he was letting me know that he was there. I called my husband, Caston, to join me outside. After a minute or two, he found that the kitten had crawled into a tiny space near the trunk. 

After much banging, we saw this little spot of color run across our drive and settle in a tree under our kitchen window.  No amount of coaxing would get him to come down. Over the next several days we left food and water for him, and around day three he finally let me pick him up.

Caston and I have known one another for over twenty years.  Almost sixteen of those have been as a married couple.  All animals we have shared have found us.  We have never gone looking for a new pet.  We already have our hands full with a geriatric Chihuahua mix and a needy, spoiled Dachshund.  We were not in the market for another pet, but the Universe decided differently.

All these months later, Spartacus’ integration into our little family is complete.  He loves spending his days sleeping inside on the sofa, and his nights outdoors.  On cold nights, he prefers to be back inside, but if the weather is warmer, you cannot entice him indoors.

This routine has worked fine. Wiggles has become very fond of Spartacus (or Sparty), and will whine for him to return indoors.  Lulu, being her usual Diva self could care less.  Wiggles and Sparty keep us entertained playing on the couch and the two of us consistently ooh and ahh over Sparty’s latest pose.

This past Saturday evening, we called for Sparty to come indoors several times.  No Spartacus. We gave him the moniker, “The Wander Kitty” because he loves to wander the place.  He has removed several unwanted visitors from the yard during his tenure.  We figured this night was no different. We both knew when he got hungry, he’d show up in the garage howling for his bowl.

We were watching a little TV when I received a call from a number I did not recognize.  I do what I always do – ignore it.  I figure if it is important, they will leave a voicemail.  Sure enough, I hear the ding letting me know a message is waiting.

Turns out it was a neighbor from across the street calling to see if we were missing a cat. Were we? Hmm….I called her back immediately and identified myself. Thankfully she was able to call us after seeing our phone number on his tag.  Sure enough, guess who was lying on her couch?  None other than our Spartacus, The Wander Kitty. She also has cats who enjoy a pet door.  Well, Sir Spartacus decided to go visiting and made himself right at home. He had his eye on her two female felines. 

We put two and two together and realize that our boy has reached ‘manhood.’  He was out and about caterwauling looking for a lady friend.  Boys and their Saturday nights! Caston went to escort him home, and I swear he was not the least bit repentant!

Spartacus is currently at the “hospital” having his little problem taken care of.  He was most unhappy with his banishment indoors for the rest of the weekend.  He was also pretty grumpy there was no kibbles this morning either.  Add that to a ride in a carrier and you can imagine his attitude upon delivery to the doctor.

The scary thing about his night out was that he crossed a very busy highway to get to the neighbor’s house.  OH, he had visited Friday night as well but Saturday night was when he decided to hang out all evening.  Given this, we knew it was time to introduce him to the responsibilities of manhood.  Now if only human men would do the same thing!

Send Spartacus some well wishes today. He is in for a rough week of recovery, still banished indoors until the incision heals. The moral of the story? Be very careful who you go caterwauling with on a Saturday night!

P.S. Spend the $20 on the engraved tag at PetSmart.