Tux was about 8-months-old when fall began to fade. His brother was taken by another professor, and I figured that this green-eyed black cat that remained would not survive on our rural campus as winter set in.
One day, he greeted me near the building's front door and showed me a nest he'd made in a lilac bush. I had named him and let him in my office daily to feed him. We had become chums and I knew he wasn't aware of how tough things could get. I took him home just before Halloween.
Tux was my only four-legged pet, but I had two birds. He never bothered them. In fact, one day I came home from work, and he met me and led me into my music room to show me where my cockatiel was sitting. Homer had gotten out of her cage and Tux was upset. Nobody was hurt, and Homer was safely returned to her cage. Tux likes to watch birds, but never calls to them.
Tux is now 16 and is the sexiest cat anywhere. He puts up with two noisy ratties (both rescue dogs) and a stray grey cat I call "Lil Mick" who I took from a friend who cared for strays. Lil Mick was placed with a friend who promptly lost him less than three hours after she got him. He got out of her car 145 miles away. His story is a long and fascinating one, but suffice to say that he was found after six weeks and I got him back. Thank God for social media and kind and generous animal lovers!
Tux has taken him in with some resentment, but they get along because they understand that two vs. two is a better balance when vying for attention from "Mom." Tux is still in charge, but just cool enough to rule with a velvet panther paw and not ruffle any fur.
When people at work first learned Tux had gone home with me, they'd look surprised. "That smelly cat that leapt out at students from the bushes?" "That strange skinny fleabag?" Yes, that cat who cost me mucho in vet bills to make healthy and pest free... you have no idea what you overlooked, folks. He is devoted to my elderly mother who came to live with us three years ago. He's cuddly, intelligent, sweet and sexy! Black cats are the best!
KEWANEE, IL
