Cats who’ve lived here | Tom Camfield

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Cats who have lived at this address over the past 60 years have included Tickles, Pickles, Mittens, Whiskers, Rufus, Schubert, Morph (eus), Arthur, Pearl Gray, Earl Gray, Funny Kitty, Henry, Peanut, Julius, Genghis and Mikey . . . and a few others who were mere part-timers partial to our extra-lot Uptown yard, hedge and garden. Bixby comes to mind. Each has left behind a story of his or her own.

These cats (and two dogs) have lived with us in a steady stream at this same Port Townsend address since 1961. Pictured above is Mikey, age unknown, who has lived alone with us since about 2008 — until dying unexpectedly this past week, March 9 . . . coincidentally the birthday of our son and of a grandson.

My wife and I now live alone except for the cat next door — who had developed the habit of a second breakfast on the back porch with our cat Mikey over the years.

Just as well that all sorts of animals are no longer as freely abandoned as in the past to find homes of their own or die in the attempt. Excellent facilities now accept both animals and funding for their care — and some of us are now too old to provide another 12 or 15 years’ companionship for a cat. We reached a maximum of four at one point.

My first pet as a child here in Port Townsend was about 86 years ago around the time I began first grade and we moved to a home with some elbow room on Tremont Street around 1935.

A few years later, during the Great Depression, my father built a home, barn, etc. several blocks away. Sandy — a faithful companion of several young boys of whom I was the oldest — was a collie-mix breed dog. He died of infected battle wounds about the end of the 1930s. As far as I know Sandy remains buried some 82 years or so later at the base of the huge stone that adjoined the barnyard at 33rd Street and San Juan Avenue.

My next pet was a duck purchased as a chick for 50 cents from Pete Naughton (later county sheriff).