Willie's Nine Lives
by Carolyn J. Holley

Many of us feel fortunate to have one life to live and do our best to make the most of it. This is the story of Willie, a little orange tabby who seemed to believe in the proverbial "cat's nine lives," as he lived life to the fullest, often encountering danger and luckily, lots of kindness along the way.

He was born into the world at 2:00am on a cold and windy night in February 1990. His mother was heavy with him and his three sisters when she had managed, with some difficulty, to crawl through the hole in the washhouse door. Here, she had prepared a secluded nest where she knew she and her little family would not be disturbed. Years ago, the washhouse was a busy place, but nowadays the family's wash was done inside with an electric washer. The wife had a dryer, but preferred sheets that were hung outside to dry. She said they smelled fresh like the outdoors. Now the washhouse was mostly used for storage, with lots of shelves to hold home-canned vegetables. Even in winter the green beans and tomatoes were protected from the cold in this well built structure. So, mother and babies were safe from the freezing winter winds blowing outside.

As winter cold gave way to green buds of spring, the four kittens grew fat and playful. They were lucky to live with folks who liked cats, especially the mother cat who was a skilled hunter, ridding the house and property of mice and other bothersome creatures. It was the youngest daughter who noticed that her big calico pet has become a mother and it became her mission to find the little ones. It didn't take her long to discover the kittens, fuzzy and playful in their little nest. She would hold them and play with them for hours and they soon learned that people were not be be feared.

One day the girl's father told her it was time for the kittens to leave. He assured her they were so cute and friendly, they would easily find new homes. That night, he put all four kittens into a potato basket and placed them in the back of his pickup truck. It seemed they bumped and bounced for a very long time, until finally stopping on a rutted dirt road. The man lifted the basket from the truck, lifting the tarp covering it. Cool night air rushed and the kittens blinked widely in the bright moonlight. The man hit the side of the basket firmly, startling the kittens, who scrambled out and scattered into the waiting woods. Separated from his three sisters, the male kitten followed a dirt path to a large barn, its red paint faded from many blistering southern summers.

Bravely, he approached the barn. In this past, a building such as this offered protection and shelter from the elements. After locating an opening between the boards, he climbed stealthily into his haven. Large bags were stacked throughout the large room. Hungrily, he scratched a hole into one of the bags, but the powdery grains were not to his liking. Roaming further, he heard the scramble of small feet and discovered there were many mice in the barn. Remembering how his mother had caught and fed mice to him and his sisters, he stalked one of the larger ones. Slowly....slowly....he crept up behind his prey. Pounce! Got it! His feeling of accomplishment was great, but his hunger was greater. After finishing his much needed meal, the little yellow tabby curled up for a nap.

The cat continued living in this manner for several days. A farmer visited the barn every day as he fed the pigs contained in a pasture near the kitten's new home. Remembering his frightening trek to the dark woods with the farmer from his first family, the kitten would hide from the man. But the farmer was patient and kind and, in time, the kitten cautiously allowed the gentle man to scratch his ears and rub his back. Soon, he was accompanying the farmer on his rounds to feed the pigs and attend other duties around the farm, even riding in the man's big truck. One day as they were driving along one of the paths near the farm, the man pulled into a driveway. A woman wearing a flowery dress and straw hat waved from the garden. Waving back and saying hello to "Ma", the farmer lifted his little friend from the truck and asked her if she'd like a little company around the house. The woman held the kitten close and said she'd be delighted to keep him. Soon, she was calling him Willie and allowed him to live in her house with another kitten named Tink. Willie and Tink enjoyed roaming the rooms, climbing and playing on the overstuffed furniture and playing hide-and-seek in the hidden corners. When they tired of their games, they stretched out for long naps on Ma's Chesterfield sofa.

The kitten was now a full-grown cat - large and orange. Although he dearly loved Ma and the farmer who found him, he did not trust other people and often hid when Ma had visitors. Even so, he was quite content with his new life. But another big change was coming when Ma fell one day while preparing dinner. She lay on the floor for a very long time, not moving or responding to any of Willie's mews. Finally, the farmer came for a visit and was shocked to find his mother in this state. A call was made and more strange vehicles and people came to this house, taking Ma away. Willie never say his kind caregiver again.

It was the gentle farmer who came to the house with a young woman to coax the frightened cat from beneath the bed. Willie nervously allowed the woman to hold him and take him to his new home. At Ma's house, he was often outdoors, but here, large barking dogs were outside - dogs who were not so feline friendly. Still, Willie was always on the lookout for an open door and would streak out given an opportunity. Early on spring morning such an opportunity presented itself and Willie found himself out in the large front yard. He was not alone, however. Also in the yard were the dogs in residence, who pounced upon the unsuspecting cat. The woman, hearing the commotion, grabbed the broom by the back door and raced out, yelling and swinging the broom at the dogs. They ran, leaving Willie lying on the grass, badly wounded and bleeding. With on other way to carry the cat and keep him from bleeding, the woman removed her t-shirt and wrapped it around he injured pet and carried him inside. After a trip to the hospital, Willie soon healed.

Soon he yearned to roam under a clear sky and hunt for mice among the grasses and weeds outdoors. So on a cold, rainy February night, Willie again made his way past the woman and the open door. She searched for the cat for two days, calling his name over and over. Finally, on the third day, she heard a plaintive mew that seemed to be coming from some woods near her house. She walked down the hill to a stand of trees and found her pet crouched on a branch at the top of a tall pine tree, wet and weak from his ordeal. He meowed so loudly to her, but seemed unable to climb down from his perch. Hours went by, but he would not be budged. This was a real problem. After considering her possibilities, the woman decided the tree would have to come down. She phoned her brother, who came with his saw and carefully cut the tree down. It landed with a firm thud, landing so that Willie was unhurt and safely on the ground. Although clearly shaken by his ordeal, Willie ran up the hill and darted back into the house.

By now, Willie had used three of his nine lives, scrambling to safety from his release in the woods, surviving a savage attack and three cold days spent clinging to a treetop. Deciding it would be smarter to conserve the remaining six, Willie decided he would stay indoors and spend his evenings contentedly curled up beside the woman as she listened to her radio or read the newspaper.

A cat's life indeed.

This page was updated September 26, 2003