Ness is an adopted, light tan male tabby cat. Upon first observation he looks like any other farm or alley cat. However his personality and demeanor put him in a class of his own.

We had moved into a house out of town that sat on a few acres. My husband was busy doing his thing and many days I found myself home alone. Our last child had left home and I was silently suffering ‘empty nest syndrome’. I began to seriously consider getting a cat, just to keep me company. I kept tabs on all the cats and kittens being given away in the Walmart parking lot, but none of them were ever in my favorite colors - vivid calico or black.

One evening after supper, my brother-in-law called. Out of the blue he asked, “Do you want a cat?” I said “Yes,” not thinking to state color preference, pedigree, etc. It turned out he had been helping to remodel a vacant house and had found a light colored tabby cat. The cat had apparently been abandoned and had taken refuge in the ductwork inside the house. Coaxing him out had taken patience, perseverance, and food. Eventually the cat began to trust my brother-in-law and looked forward to his attention as well as to the food and water.

We brought the cat to our home shortly thereafter on a warm July evening. My husband wasn’t overly excited about having a house cat, so we put the cat in the shop, which was detached from the house. It felt cold and empty. The floor was concrete and the walls were bare, which left a hollow sound whenever one spoke. When I would step inside to “visit”, finding him was a tedious process as there were many, many places for him to hide. Sometimes he would come to me if I called and/or talked sufficiently. Other times he remained in his hiding place.

The day came when I decided that he needed more attention than he was receiving. The only way I could do that was to have him close at hand, which was in the house. Thinking my husband would be more tolerant, I put him in the finished basement along with food, water, and kitty litter. How wonderful to discover he was already litter trained. He liked being in the basement with our youngest son, who was home from college for the summer. The two bonded immediately and the cat became known as ‘Ness’.

Ness, even though he wasn’t black or calico, rapidly wormed his way into our hearts. He became very loving as well as very independent. His most favorite person was our youngest son. But when he went back to school, my husband became the preferred person upon whose lap he enjoyed sleeping. Yes, I, who wanted the cat in the first place, was the last human he wanted to befriend! However, patience always perseveres. When everyone would leave, it was my lap he wanted to abide. And could that cat purr——-!