The "We Call Him Big Bob!" Story

Big Bob

It was an ordinary day.  Carol opened the back door and called out, "Big Bob, time for breakfast!!"  After a few minutes she does it again.  And, again!  "No Big Bob today," she says to me.  "Someone else has a better breakfast than we do I guess."   Big Bob is a big tabby who looks to be ancient.  He has survived winter after winter and although he really shows his age, still seems to show up when he is hungry.  We guess that he has quite a few offspring in the surrounding area with our most recent addition, "Snickerdoodle" being one of them.  And, when we also claimed "The Gray Lady" from our back porch last January, she was found to have six kittens in her when we had her spayed.  Our guess was that Big Bob was the culprit who impregnated her.  But, Big Bob looks helpless as well as hopeless.  

Breakfast on the rear step.  He very seldom takes his eye from us.

The poor guy wanders from home to home looking for a handout.  We think he makes use of the small shelter we have at the top of our rear steps or maybe the insulated shelter I built years ago in the rear of out outdoor Tiki Hut.  One day, recently, Big Boy walked down our rear steps to eat the food we had put out for him and rather than sit next to the dish, stretched from the step above to reach the dish.  

Eating on two steps.  He makes everything hard.

For those of you who do not like cats, you just wouldn't understand why we continue to feed this old guy, but we hate to see him die of starvation.  There are others on our street who feel the same, but also those who hate that we feed him.  I can see both sides of the equation, but just can't bring myself to leave a starving cat without something to eat.  When he needs a meal, he will sit on the steps and stare at the back door.  Upon seeing us opening the door, he scurries to cover under the trees above him, only returning to the food dish when he hears the door close and the lock click.  He hasn't lived this long without being careful.  

He does groom himself at times.

Some day the weather will get him or someone will trap him, but until that time we will call out for him.  He is one of God's creatures just as the two indoor cats that we have claimed from out back porch.  He could possibly be the father of one or both of them!  So, when he sits starring at the back door, we will open the door and yell, "Time to eat, Big Bob!"  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.