Tigger: My Story

HARRY MARTIN POLIS, poet-philosopher
E-mail: harrymartinpolis@yahoo.com

http://www.poet-cop.com/

ICQ # 10954537



TIGGER: MY STORY



Keke and Tigger

Hi, my name is Tigger. I'm the Ginger cat in the photo. The little black and white cat is my adopted son. We met on the streets of South Philadelphia. I had been surviving for a couple of years on whatever I could find. I usually hung out behind the shopping centers near the river with other cats. Life was hard. One day, in the summer of 2006, I took a walk into where the houses were and found Keke. He was pitiful. I took him under my wing and showed him how to search out food and stay safe. We enjoyed our time together and it was great to have a friend. When the weather started to cool off, I took Keke into a little residential street with me and we settled under a tree. Away from the river, there just wasn't any other place, but I though we would be okay there, in our little hideaway.

While we huddled under the tree, I watched the people who lived in the houses. One young woman looked especially interesting. There were cats in her house who I could see in the windows, and she talked to the little female cats who were strolling by. I didn't trust people, but I decided to ask this woman who loved cats if she would help us. I approached her on her steps a few times, and she told me she would look for a home for us. Success!!

Just a few days later, the young lady and her boyfriend, tricked us into cages and drove us out to Delaware to the lady's mother. Life became amazing and wonderful! They made a lovely home for us in the garage, fed us canned and hard food--no more trash!--and gave us the run of their yard and the park beyond. Keke loved the mom, and let her carry him around. I let her pet me and I could see she knew that was a great privilege. This summer, the mom brought us into the house with her other two cats, Moon and Autumn. Keke and I still cry. We can't help it; we remember our old life and we worry that we will have to live on the streets again. We're waiting and watching, but we're also enjoying our home.