A Cat Named Turtle

Turtle sees snow for the first time on the balcony of my apartment. December 2007.

My girlfriend Kharla worked for the county on a campus that is very old and dilapidated.  There are trailers on site and critters and varmints are known to congregate in the area.  I got a phone call one day imploring me to be a hero.  Kharla found a litter of kittens and she wanted to rescue them.  She already had a large alpha cat and felt I should join the cat owner’s club.  I declined the invitation.

“You’ll love her!”  she exclaimed.  “Cats are wonderful!  So independent.” The cat was actually a boy, but she was convinced it was a she. She persisted and I gave in.  Kharla had keys to my apartment and said she’d make the delivery.  Great.  This would be the beginning of Kharla getting her way.  A few hours later I got a call and Kharla was freaking out.  Somehow the cat got stuck under the vanity in one of my bathrooms.  What?  How does that even happen?

After work I went straight home.  Kharla was there waiting.  She had gotten the cat out by pulling up the flooring of my vanity leaving a softball sized hole.  There goes the security deposit!  She told me she got him a litter box, a bag of litter, food and water dishes, toys, and a bag of cat food.  A cat and all the accessories were inside my spare closet.  I wanted to see my new roommate.  I hadn’t had a pet since I lived with my parents.

I opened the closet and inside was this tiny black creature filled with so much energy.  Oh my gosh it was so beautiful!  He was hesitant but allowed me to lift him up.  I hugged it and informed him I would call him Turtle.  I held him against my chest and he purred.  I just held him a moment until he decided he didn’t want to be held.  As he grew he kept up this multiple personality trait.  Matter of fact, he would turn it up a notch.  He freaked out and put a couple holes in my shirt.  Okay, okay!  I set him down.

Turtle ran off to the kitchen and decided to explore behind my dishwasher.  Then he was stuck.  Now I had to take out a dish washer and pull him out.  He was going to be a handful. 

Welcome to parenthood.

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The earliest picture I still have of Turtle.  I'm guessing he's about nine months old here?  September, 2007.

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