by Charles Gates
(Little Rock, Arkansas USA)

Yellow Cat came around the house sometime in February 2011. I always had a water bowl outside for Bandit, a 9 year old feline friend of mine and any other of God's animals.

Yellow Cat was a feral male feline who had become friends with Bandit. I did not really want another cat, but I started feeding him hot dogs behind the house, which he didn't like that much. So after I saw that Bandit & Yellow Cat got along so well, I started feeding him cat food on the back of my truck.

Bandit would play rough with Yellow Cat, and Yellow Cat would just take it. But after a few weeks, Yellow Cat got tired of it and showed Bandit that he was younger and tougher. After that, I could see that they bonded.

In April, Yellow Cat started to let me pet him and he loved it. When the two cats layed down by each other, it was as if they were saying to each other: "I'm watching your back and you are doing the same for me." Yellow Cat reminded me a lot of Bandit because he was so loving and so well behaved.

I regret moving Yellow Cat to the different house on 9/10/11. When I did, he ran off and got run over and killed. Now, Yellow Cat and Bandit are buried in the same garden.

I am so sorry, Yellow Cat. You were so young. It's all my fault. I did not give it my all. You were such a good boy, and I'm sorry this took so long.