One of the strays we took in was always so keen to show his appreciation for a warm home, food, love and affection...and more food.
He bonded with my daughter and she named him Gato. We had him for about three years. He was a huge, heavy orange tabby - old and worn with freckles on his lips, harboring the breath of fish when he meowed and licked your lashes in the morning. He was tough as nails ~ he'd walked right past the raccoons at night in our backyard without flinching. After all, he owned this place; he owned us!
We tried to find his owner but best we could figure, he was abandoned by neighbors - we had a rash of foreclosures in our neighborhood over the past several years.
When we took him to our vet for shots and check up, we learned he was microchipped. I was so excited that I'd found his owner! Then, I laughed so hard I cried when I found out the name his original owners had bestowed on this massive hunk of orange fur - Snowball. Snowball!?! Even my vet got a kick out of that. Surely there was some mistake with the microchip thingy? No, they double checked it - that was his given name. She surmised he had been a much lighter complexion as a kitten - perhaps a fluffier creamy peach? Anyhooo ... We called and called the number on file and I left messages with no response. They obviously didn't want him. So, we kept him and loved him.
Gato passed away this winter. Sadly, we had noticed his decline one evening. As many cats do, he went off and hid that very night. We searched and searched. Two days passed. My daughter found his lifeless body under our deck. I rushed home to be by her side and to make arrangements for his cremation (we have a sundry of urns with all of our fur friends who've passed). Trying to be stoic when making the calls, I hadn't wanted to cry. After all, I had to go back to work. I had to keep my composure. When the woman on the phone asked if I wanted the rainbow urn, my first thought was, wow, how did she know my daughter might like that? Then I asked, "What's the rainbow urn?" and she explained. When she got to the "Until we meet at the Rainbow Bridge..." part, I just lost it and stared bawling!!
Anyway, sorry for the ramble... So good to see you, too, BHN - it has been a while and I'm glad I'm back, lurking and posting a bit at DU! 
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