I’ve always enjoyed the company of animals, not so much chickens of which we had a flock, but of cats and dogs. Later on in life I learned to enjoy horses. I went so far as to take riding lessons one summer in the late 1990’s.

In primary school, grade three to be exact, I came across some kittens on the playground during recess. I wasn’t the only one who saw those cute little fur balls. I don’t know if I picked out the black one or if that was the only one left, but I didn’t mind for I got the shiniest and cutest one!

We knew recess was coming to an end so we surrounded the kittens with tumble weeds to contain them until we could see them again at lunch time.

I worried over my kitten all through class. When the lunch bell went I hurried through my meal and saved some for my new pet. As soon as I could I dashed over to tumble weed enclosure hoping that my little black kitten was still there.

And guess what? It was there! With great relief I gave it some of my lunch and it ate it out of my hand. That was fun! One of the other boys brought an empty tin can he found somewhere and filled it with water for the kittens.

We played with them through lunch, contained them again until school was over for the day. At that point each of us took a kitten and went our separate ways.

I tried to get on the school bus, but the driver said no dice! I wasn’t about to give up my prize just because I’d have to walk three miles home. I tucked my cat into my shirt and headed north.

I don’t remember the trip home but on a previous occasion when I fled from a beating by two town boys and began to walk home I was picked up by my neighbor Charley Jardine. Such may have been the case with my new cat because the trip was uneventful.

When Auntie Kay saw my kitten she initially didn’t want it, especially when she discovered it was a female! But she gave in when I pleaded with her. Wally was okay with the addition to our family and named her Anthracite. Wally was creative when it came to naming.

After a year of being with us, Anthracite gave birth to several kittens. I don’t remember where the little ones went. Before Anthracite was two years old, her wanderings across the busy highway 97 led to her demise. A cat is no match for a vehicle.

Wally found her body by the side of the highway, picked her up, and buried her in the orchard. After that I didn’t want another cat. I think Wally missed the company of a pet because in the spring of the next year one of our neighbors gave us a puppy. That is a story for another day.

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