Papa Tony

In memory of my Tony (a.k.a. Papa Tony)

The first time I saw Tony he was hiding in the back of a kennel at my veterinarian’s office. A woman had found him in her garage and had been feeding him for several weeks but was unable to take him in due to her health. She asked Dr. Sturmer to find a home for this lost kitty. The staff at Parkview Cat Clinic named him “Carrots,” because of his orange coloring. Dr. Sturmer told me Carrots had been in the kennel for 30 days and was very sweet but did not show well because he was so scared. He said, “Linda, why don’t you take him home and foster him for a while, he just needs to get out of that kennel.” I went home to think about it. One of my cats had passed away a couple of months earlier and I was still adjusting to that loss. I also had to consult with my cat Pimmy as to whether we should foster Carrots for a while. Pimmy did not express any concerns so I brought Carrots home the next day. Dr. Sturmer’s only request was that I rename him because Dr. Sturmer did not like the name Carrots.

It was inevitable that within 24 hours I decided that Carrots would become a permanent member of my household. That’s how long it took him to come out of hiding and act like he had always lived with me and Pimmy. I looked at Carrots and realized he had a face like Tony the Tiger. That’s how he became my Tony. Life was good.

About two years after Tony joined our household I took in three feral kittens, on a temporary basis of course. The kittens were about 5 months old when they arrived. They had to be kept in a separate room in a large kennel while I worked at socializing them. Tony and Pimmy would watch through the glass door of the room where the kittens were kept and the kittens would watch back. After a few weeks the kittens were out of the kennel and free to roam in their room. They were starting to get use to me and I decided it was time to let Tony and Pimmy in to get acquainted. Pimmy was a little intimidated by the kittens and wanted out of the room but Tony just sat there as the kittens sniffed him and rubbed against him. After that he always went into the room with me to visit the kittens. That’s how he became PaPa Tony. The kittens always wanted to play with him and he was very patient with them. After the kittens were released from their room and were free to wander the house Tony was there to show them how to be good house cats. They followed him everywhere. He was their go to guy.

Tony had a friendly personality and loved to be petted and have his neck scratched. He purred long and loud. He enjoyed chasing his sparkle balls and munching on fresh catnip. He always greeted me at the door when I came home from work and hung around with me while I made dinner. When I worked at my computer he would sit on his own chair right next to mine and occasionally interject his own comments if I ignored him for too long. When I headed up to bed he would race up the stairs ahead of me and hop into bed. He loved to sit on my lap and kick back in the recliner. He enjoyed sunny days on the front porch lazing around and watching the world go by.

The kittens, Zoe, Zorro and Zack, grew up and became good housecats. Of course they’ve never left my home and each of them developed a special relationship with their Papa Tony.

Tony was diagnosed with acute on chronic renal disease less than a week before he left us on February 2, 2015. We had the pleasure of Tony’s company for a little over eight years. The time went by so fast. He was a great cat, a great companion and is loved and missed by Zoe, Zorro, Zack and Linda.