Baldric the Cat's Page

On June 29, 1991 I went to Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society to adopt a cat. It was pretty busy that day and they had a lot of cats in the adoption room. The second cat I held in my lap, a 2-3 year-old cream and white male DSH, started purring and then turned to give me a small head-bump. I knew this was the one. I named him Baldric. He was my first cat.

Baldric had been abandoned by his family in an apartment in Chicago. The landlord or landlady discovered him while prepping the apartment for the next renter. I noticed that Baldric was received by ACS around the middle of the month. Since most people move around the first of the month, he could have been alone for up to two weeks. He was suffering from dehydration and was admitted to the ACS clinic. He was released to adoption the day I arrived.

When we arrived home, I set up the rear bedroom as his domain. I still had my elderly German Shepard, so I placed a dog gate with a cat-sized hole in the doorway. The bedroom had a couch suitable for a cat to sleep on and hide under (the couch was his refuge for the first two weeks). I placed his food, water and litter box in the room.

My dog, Teekam, spent most of the time snoozing so it was several hours before she met Baldric. I had to escort her past the rear bedroom to take her outside. As she passed the door, she saw Baldric on the couch and then lunged at him. Baldric dove under the couch and Teekam ran to the back door to continue the chase outside (she had only seen cats outside). When she came back in, she wanted to sniff Baldric, who was just on the other side of the dog gate. She wasn't hostile at all.

After a bit, Baldric and Teekam became buddies. I saw Baldric give Teekam head-butts. Baldric would lay on my bed and bat Teekam on the head with his paw (his claws and toes were extended but he never scratched her). Baldric would roll over on his back offering his belly to Teekam. One time she stepped on his tail (she didn't walk very well) and Baldric wasn't amused.

For the first two weeks or so, Baldric would spend most of the day, while I was at work, under the couch and would come out when I returned home. Soon he was confident enough to explore the house and snooze on other pieces of furniture.

I had gone on a couple of short trips (3-4 days) and would place Teekam in a kennel. Baldric remained home alone and he seemed quite happy to do so.

In Feb, 1992, I had noticed that Teekam's physical condition was deteriorating and made the decision to have her put down. I had made the arrangements with my vet and with a local pet crematorium. Baldric seemed to take Teekam absence without comment. However, I made a trip out of town the following week and when I  returned home, Baldric was very vocal. I received about a half hour of "Wah! Wah! Wah!". I guess Baldric did miss Teekam.

After a month or two, I decided to get a second cat who I named Basil. Baldric hated Basil and it was about a month before Baldric would tolerate him. Basil spent about a month in a separate bedroom: first because he had ear mites that had to be treated; and then he developed an upper respiratory infection.

So after many years Baldric still didn't like Basil and would try to beat him up. However, Basil would harass Baldric in return and chase him around the house. I think Basil was playing and Baldric wasn't. Anyway, both cats usually shared the bed with me and slept within 1 or 2 feet of each other.

Baldric would on occasion jump into the bathtub (after I got out and opened the drain and the water level dropped to about an inch) to drink the water. I guess he liked Me soup.

I woke up one wintry Friday morning at 5:00 AM, we had a clear view of the almost full moon in the western sky. It was shining brightly into my bedroom and on the floor was a bright patch of moonlight (moonshine?). In the middle of the patch of moonlight lay Baldric. I wonder if he was disappointed that the moonlight wasn't as warm as direct sunlight?

On June 30, 2005, Baldric was diagnosed with diabetes. What fun to spend the 4th of July (2005) at the emergency vet because he was in ketoacidosis. 

Baldric stopped eating again and developed a respiratory infection. After several days of treatment, he wasn't improving and he still wasn't eating. I decided it was time to let him go. While saying goodbye, Baldric purred and gave me the tiniest head butt. Back in 1991 when I was looking to adopt a cat, it was him who gave me a small head butt as if to say "adopt me!" He died July 15 at 11:29 AM CDT at an age of 16 years. He owned me for 14 years.

This is a little creepy. Saturday night, I'm at the computer with Basil at my side on the desk (hogging the mouse pad). Both of us hear a "kathunk" from the hall just outside the room. Basil has turned his head to stare out the room's door into the hallway.

This "kathunk" was the sound the Littermaid litter box would make when Baldric stepped on the metal plate that is over the waste receptacle. Except that Baldric was not here as he passed Friday morning.

Sunday morning, I heard another "kathunk" and Basil was with me at the time.

I had turned off the Littermaid as Basil won't use it (he's afraid of it). It was still off. I examined the Littermaid and noticed that I hadn't emptied the waste receptacle since Monday (trash day) and Baldric went to the vet on Tuesday. The clumps of litter had grown a furry mold, so I disposed of that receptacle and replaced it with a clean one.

So either I had a ghostly visitation or else the moldy clumps had expanded and shifted the metal cover to make that noise. Yeah, that's it.

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	A box full of Baldric	"You talking to me?"
Recharging his solar batteries.	Cat-napping.	Snoozing among the dirty clothes.
More cat-napping.	Even more cat-napping.	"Who woke me?"
	Baldric's last photo

Visitor # . Last updated: July 21, 2008.