Here I will speak of my my third cat "Porta", named by my elder brother from one of the characters in the Sven Hassel books which I loved. However, before I do, I mentioned nothing of my previous two cats litters. Tiger had a beautiful little kitten named "Monty" who went to live with my brother's girlfriend at that time, and "Mo" had two litters, the first two whom I named "Mehitabel" and "Jock" and a second litter of three kittens named "Lusitania", "Amoeba" and "Piccaso". I am quite sure they were all re-named when they went to their new homes and I was only fifteen years old at the time. :-)."Porta" was my first male cat.
"Porta", like "Mo" was black and I got him from a farm near where I lived. I missed "Mo" so much and though you can never replace a cat, they all have their own personalities, and "Porta" had a very large personality. At the time, my mum was a mature student at "Jordan Hill" College in Glasgow, studying "Primary Teaching" and one of her fellow students' cat had just had a litter. I had previously trawled around Possil Park trying to locate a Tabby kitten I had met with a woman on a bus, when I worked in a home for the elderly in Lambhill. She gave me her address but when I called there was no reply so I missed out on that kitten, (and now think back that it probably wasn't very sensible at nineteen years old,wandering around by myself in search of a kitten in Glasgow at night, but that's how much I love cats. :-) ). However I had no regrets in getting "Porta" who was a complete soppy beast as all my male cats have been.
In the meantime, a year earlier, my younger brother had got a labrador/collie cross pup who was just adorable, her name being "Cara". So by the time "Porta" arrived, she was only a year old. She completely mothered my new kitten and they became "firm" friends. They used to lie on the couch together and "Porta" would wrap his paws around "Cara's " neck. It was so sweet to see.
I still laugh to this day on what I call "The incident with the kipper". My older brother was about to cook one for himself, but left it unattended for a few moments and "Porta" stole it and ran up the back garden with it. I was in fits of laughter watching him chase "Porta" all round the garden trying to retrieve it, not as it could be eaten any more but he was determined if he couldn't have it then the cat wasn't eating it! Needless to say, the cat won. :-)). Still makes me laugh to this day.
Sadly, and even more sadly after he caught my fifteen year old budgie, whom one of us had forgotten to lock the cage of (Poor wee "Dougie", :-((, he was another victim of traffic at only a year and a half old. It broke my heart, especially as I witnessed it. It wasn't the driver's fault, he just dashed onto the road. "Cara" was really depressed and I swore I would get no more cats but I just had too.
Like my previous two cats, he brought me so much joy.
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