Ragsie Tells His "Tail"
My name is Comfy Rags, but I'm usually called Rags or Ragsie. As you can see from my pictures, I'm a very handsome "tuxedo" cat. I was a wild kitten living on my own until Shay trapped me at the library when I was about 3 months old. Before then, I ate what I could find, including garbage and bugs.
The animal experts said that, because I was not very young, I would never be a good pet. They said I would spend most of my life hiding under the bed--which was no life--so it would be better to put me to sleep. But Shay has a very hard head sometimes, and she put a lot of time and energy into showing me I could trust her. I was afraid these weird creatures were planning to eat me! Even though Shay was nice to me, it took me a very long time to trust her enough to stop acting like a wild animal and become ready to be introduced to my pal, Wish Come True. Now I only go under the bed when my people turn on that awful sucking machine that hides in the hall closet. How I hate that thing!
My strange meals as a baby taught me to like people food. I still enjoy Cheerios, chips, and eggs with catsup. I adore yogurt, especially blueberry flavored. Whenever I hear a spoon scraping the inside of a yogurt container, I go begging.
Wish, Viva and I are indoor cats, to protect us and the local wildlife from harm. I love to play with my toys, especieally the little fur-covered mousie, and the water in my bowl--which makes a mess and annoys my family. But they love me anyway.
This is me about 3 weeks after Shay trapped me. Don't I look frightened? If only I could have known how nice my family is to me! I spent a long time in that little cage. Shay fed me strips of chicken, putting her hands closer to me each time. Once she touched me and I realized it felt good, I became a lot friendlier. To this day I love my head rubs!
Wish and I at our favorite window, which overlooks the garden. Isn't Wish handsome?
He's a big guy, and sometimes he beats up on me--he says I'm a pest and since I was an
orphan living alone I have no cat manners--but mostly we get along well.
My family says that when Wish came to live here, he would lash out at people for no
apparent reason, and he wouldn't let anyone hold him for even a second. But now he lets
some people hold him, and will even sit on their laps.
This is Viva, the interloper. Shay's daughter, Caitlin, spied Viva as a tiny, starved kitten trying to warm herself in the weak December sun on a bitter cold day. Using bits of hot chicken nuggets from a fast food restaurant, Shay tempted the starving kitten into the trap, thinking she would find a foster home immediately. But the animal rescue groups were overloaded already, and couldn't take another animal. So Shay took the kitten home, where she quickly realized that the poor thing was near death from starvation and worm infestation. With lots of care and love from Shay and Caitlin, the kitten quickly came back to life. She is now one of the most active cats ever! Caitlin pondered long and hard for a name for this lively kitten brought back from the brink of death, and finally hit on "Viva." We think it is perfect.
Viva and I are sitting on the "cat thing" that Shay built out of scrap materials and a $6 wooden crate. All 3 of us love the "cat thing," and sometimes sit on it together. Here you can see Viva considering the best way to attack me. She is a real pest! That little busybody will jump on me any old time, and she bites hard! Her aggressive playfulness caused me to grow some backbone and fight back. Now I have a war cry, which sounds like this, "eeeeheeehherrr!" I don't understand why my family laughs when I say this. I mean it with all seriousness.
