July 19 1999 —– Aug. 19 2000
Cat
Gus came to us from a stray cat named Stubby that we had found.
Stubby had 5 kittens one July morning Gus his sister Miss Mooey
and three other kittens that we didn’t get to name because they passed
on within hours of being born. The minute Gus was born he started eating
and didn’t stop. If his mom Stubby would try to walk away little Gus would
follow never letting go. He was Mommy’s little boy. If his sister would
bother him he would run to mommy.
When Miss Mooey and him would play she was the braver of the two.
We had a mattress leaning against the wall and within seconds Miss Mooey
would climb to the top leaving little Gus on the ground.
He would try to follow her but would get scared half way up and then
climb back down and stare up at her and cry.
I don’t think he ever made it up to the top.
We instantly fell in love with these two kittens and knew we had to keep
them together. My dad had three other cats and a dog at home but had
to have little Gus. Me on the other hand fell in love with Miss Mooey
because she had attitude so I decided I had to have her.
We let Gus and Mooey stay together as long as we could they were
brother and sister but also very good friends.
So the day came some 4 months later when the two had to go their
own separate ways. In the days that passed the two were lonely and
not adjusting well to their new surroundings.
So I packed up Mooey and we went to visit her brother Gus at my parents.
They immediately started playing just like old times.
Gus got visits from Mooey every couple of weeks but it wasn’t the same
because Gus had a new friend Rocky one of my dads other cats.
Now those two became best buds and he didn’t like Mooey anymore.
When Mooey would visit Rocky would chase her and Gus would follow him.
They got to ruff so I didn’t bring her to visit anymore.
Gus and Rocky were the best of friends. Rocky would go outside but Gus
didn’t because he was my dads baby. Well one day they decided to let
Gus go outside and he was never the same after. He would go outside
to play and then come in the house to eat and sleep.
He was only a year old but the size of a full grown 10 year old cat.
He was massive. He was twice as big as his sister.
We used to say Gus Gus ate a bus and there was people on the bus.
Gus and Rocky would go on adventures every now and then always
returning together. They did everything together including beating up all
the other cats at home. Well the time came when Stubby had more babies
and my sister brought Mittens home.
My dad would play with Mittens and Gus would get mad.
Well it got to the point where Gus was so mad at him that he would turn
his head away from my dad when he walked past him. Gus was mad
so in return he would ignore my dad and hang out with my mom
just to get my dad back. He was a one person cat we had learned.
All the cats got along even with the dog Spook except when they were
outside and Spook wouldn’t let them on the property.
He would chase them as far as his chain could go. They soon learned that
and just sat out of his range.
On the morning of August 6 th 2000 my dad let Gus out like normal.
With Rocky not coming home the night before it was a little strange
but he just figured he was looking for Rocky.
Around 10 that morning my Mom found Rocky in the wood shed looking
almost dead. They brought him in the house to see what was the matter.
He had no marks on him but he couldn’t move.
My parents thought the worst-he had been run over by a car he had
been shot- something wasn’t right.
They bottle fed him water throughout the day.
They hoped it was nothing but in the morning they had to rush him
to Vets there was something very wrong. Not only was Rocky sick but
Gus didn’t come home. After Gus being gone for a couple of days everyone
got worried. My family searched the neighbourhood asked neighbours
put up posters and ads in the paper. Rocky stayed at the Vets for a week he had
a bad virus that was going around. When he came home he immediately
looked for Gus. With Gus no where around he started to have a fit.
He was no longer aloud outside for fear he would get sick again
but he was our only hope of finding Gus.
He sat in the window and cried for days but couldn’t get Gus’s attention.
It had now been about two weeks with no sight of Gus.
Then on August 21 my sister received a call from a lady saying she had
their cat and to come get him. The lady was a block away.
My sister went over to get Gus but instead was shown this mess on the
ground of fur and bones. The lady said this cat showed up about two weeks
earlier looking sick. She didn’t go near him to see and she didn’t feed him.
She also forgot to call anyone to come pick up the cat when he was still alive.
We had called all people would deal with stray cats and left
descriptions about Gus.
The old lady let him hang on for a very few days appearing to be in pain
and sick she said he wined very badly and had a pink nose
we knew it was Gus. This heartless old lady let Gus die in her back yard
and just left him there until her neighbours dog come over and
ripped him apart. This all the old lady could tell my sister.
Well my sister was overcome with grief and went into shock.
The one thing we knew is that we couldn’t let our Dad find this out.
That night my dad would do his normal stand on the deck for an hour
and call GUS GUS GUSEY. My sister couldn’t take it anymore and told
my dad at about 9:00pm. He was distraught. He wanted all the information he
was going to get what was left of his cat and tune the old lady up.
We told him it was to late and if he was in her back yard that late at night
she would call the police. So he waited until the morning and
went to her house. She did the wrong thing and told him more stories
of her experience with Gus like she had trouble cutting her grass around the
body because of the smell. My dad held his ground and didn’t loose his cool.
He dug up what he could and searched the back yard for any sign of Gus.
He brought Gus home and buried his remains in the back yard.
I had never seen my dad cry like this his heart had been ripped
out he lost his best friend.
The next day we received a phone call from a lady 10 miles away saying
she had seen our ad in the paper and was sure she had our cat.
It was set in my dad’s mind that he had Gus back.
He went to the lady’s house to see the cat but it ran away.
He didn’t get a good look but he said the colours were to dark to be Gus.
I called the humane society to report this horrible crime,but because
we lived in the country no one knew who was responsible for us.
I finally did get a hold of someone but they said it was to late because
the body had been moved and it was the old ladies word against ours.
All I wanted was her to be unable to have any pets of own so she
couldn’t do it again to her pets or anyone else’s.
I wrote an editorial in the paper and the people were amazed and
disgusted with the actions of this old lady. I wanted everyone to know what
kind of person lived in their community.
I have also made other little tributes to Gus but nothing takes away the pain.
At the sound of his name I start to cry. I used a whole box of kleenex
writing this story I feel a little better but will never feel normal.
This was my parents cat but when he see any animal being born
and then grow up you have this bond with them I can’t help it.
Gus was just a little over a year old when he left us but he is in
my heart forever.
Good-bye Gus we love you and always will always love you
until we meet again my friend.
Love,
Tony Gloria Anna Lenettia Gina and pets Rocky,
Lady Bandit Mittens Spooky,
Stubby and Miss Mooey
| Gusey |