A Pretty Good Teacher, For A Cat

Proud and independent, Tiger made contributions to this maturing family that will never be forgotten

-  BY Monte Bourjaily, Jr

Gwyn, my youngest daughter, helped Tiger as we drove down the country road to the vet's on what was to be his last Friday morning. Privately, both of us nursed a forlorn hope. We joked and laughed, trying to ignore the spectre that hovered over the cat sitting quietly in her arms.

At 16, Tiger was old for a cat. In quiet dignity, he let Gwyn pet him, perhaps understanding that this was a special trip. I glanced at the two as I drove, and thought back to the day when Tiger first entered our lives.

He had been a Christmas present to my second son. Brian, at six, wanted something that was his alone, something not handed down-as were his clothes and toys-from his older brother. Sadly, even our dogs had merely tolerated Brian, responding more eagerly to my commands, and those of my wife and older boy.

And so, on Christmas Day 1954, I rose early with my wife to put the tiny kitten a neighbour had given us into the stocking that Brian had carefully tacked to the mantelpiece the night before. The first of my vivid memories involving Tiger is the look of joy on Brian's face when he saw the kitten's head poking out of the stocking, and heard the plaintive 'meow' that proved his present was alive.

From then on, Tiger's life was filled with love. Brian lavished care on him, fed him, played with him. For a sometimes rough, sometimes clumsy child, Brian showed a co-ordinated gentleness with Tiger that was amazing. And late at night, when I checked on the children, I would invariably find Tiger on Brian's bed, stretched out beside him.

My next clear memory of Tiger is also a happy one, which came after neartragedy. One evening our next-door neighbour rang the front doorbell. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said when my wife answered the door, "but when I backed out of the driveway this afternoon, I'm afraid I ran over your cat. I tried to help him, but he jumped up and ran away. I don't know where he went or how badly he was hurt."