I was out this morning talking with a neighbor. When Rocky came up to
greet us I mentioned that it had been awhile since I'd seen the tuxedo
tom cat which has been a regular to my outdoor food bowl. That's when
I learned that a cat had been killed crossing the busy 4 lane road two
blocks away. I can't be positive that the cat killed is the cat I've
called Black Tom for the past couple years, since when I got in the
truck and drove other there the body had been removed.

I've posted here before about Tom, using him as an example of
irresponsible cat owners. When I talked to his people, I found that
they had never even seen fit to name him. His owners let him roam,
even though they knew he crossed that busy road. I talked to them a
couple times, but couldn't get through them how dangerous it was to
let him roam. I told them about the local non-profit neutering clinic,
where they could get him neutered for $18, but they just said they
"couldn't do that to their cat." Though he was sleek and well fed, I
don't know how much they fed him, since he could be counted on eating
here mornings and evenings.

Tom looked so much like my Sammy that I frequently had to do a double
take, wondering if Sammy had gotten out. He was the same age as Sammy,
three years old, and a lot of the neighbors thought they were litter
mates. I knew better, since I knew where Little Bit's babies went,
when they all, except Sam, left to go with their new families. Tom had
a great personality, loved people, even though he got dealt a bad lot
with his own. Tom played with Sammy whenever he was here and I let her
out. He was the only one of the outdoor cats who come here to eat that
Rocky would share the food bowl with, all the others have to wait
until Rocky is finished. Little Bit tolerated him, pretty much like
she does Rocky - Sammy is the only other cat she'll groom and play
with.

Whenever I saw Tom crossing that road I figured that one day he
wouldn't make it. Tom hasn't been here at all this week, and he
usually visited us a couple times a day, so after learning about the
dead cat I don't have much hope that he'll show up. I've lit a candle
to guide the hit-by-car cat to the RB, but keep hoping that Tom will
show up.