I've posted about my visits to a large shorthaired grey-striper tabby
cat, whom I would drop into the Garden Center
of the local Sears dept. store in area in south FL where I lived
then.....his name was Silver ("Silver Buttonwood",
if you please!" hissed the male employee in lawn mowers/tools dept.
nearby, where I paid my credit card bill
one Wednesday each month; Silver was loved and had the company of more
employees than the ladies of the
(outdoor) Garden dept., who cared for his immediate needs (food, water
and litterbox changes) in a back room
of the big, sprawling plant sales area.....in my home state, unlike
where I am now, many other stores, including hardware stores, garden
centers abound, as plants there are pretty much safe outdoors all year
round as long as there is cover above them. When I first arrived out
there, I would stroll around till I spotted a grey-striped pair of
back legs visible only to the careful eye under a plant w/much
overhanging foliage....Silver was *not* a feral at all, but depending
on his mood of the day, he would either purr very loudly when I petted
him or maybe give me a soft bite as if to say, "Hey, I'm not the
merchandise here! Have a little respect...". One of my fave fast food
drive-ups was directly across the busy federal highway bordering the
shopping center - Long John Silver's seafood - and I would save a
piece of my fried fish or shrimp to gift Silver with when after
eating, I'd go in through the Garden Center to pay my bill inside and
then visit w/Silver and one of his devoted female slaves among the
plants. He
also got treats from the ladies who shared their dinner-break eats w/
the big cat. They told me that he never did
go outside the wrought-iron fence until very late at night - the wee
hours - to prowl the huge parking lot area, always to return before
traffic commenced each morning. I was amazed he had lasted for more
than 5 years in there w/o a vehicle doing him in, but he was a smart
old guy....I also hoped he would not fall victim to that feline
leukemia disease for which there is no cure; the ladies did give him
regular vet care, paid for by collections from surrounding employees
of nearby depts. (the indignant man who insisted on letting me know
his *full name*, for one, LOL).
I had put off calling the Garden Center from so far away - where I
live now - but wondered about Silver all this time;'
he was very old, they told me they believed. Finally a couple days
ago, I got the Garden Dept. extension number and called, reaching one
of Silver's devoted caretaker ladies, who told me that no, he was gone
as I had feared, but from no accental violence of any sort....he had
developed lymphoma and been sent to the Rainbow Bridge by his friends
at the store....the vet had said he was about 15 to 17,hw believed. I
did tell the lady he had a relatively long and happy life thanks to
their kindness and love for him. I think of Silver every time I go by
an outdoor plant sales center where I live now (they are strictly
seasonal here! winter just arrived, with teeth) and hope somewhere
else other cat loving people hide and care for another Silver former
stray old cat.